On March 22, 1897, leaders of the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio met at Tejeros, Cavite in what is known in the Philippine history as the Acta de Tejeros of the Tejeros Convention. During this time, a revolutionary government was established and the new government elected Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as President and Andres Bonifacio as Director of the Interior. Bonifacio, however, did not accept the position and so, President Aguinaldo then appointed Pascual Alvarez as Director.

As the years of struggle for independence and self-government continued, the interior department became the premier office of the government tasked with various functions ranging from supervision over local units, forest conservation, public instruction, control and supervision over the police, counter-insurgency, rehabilitation, community development and cooperative development programs.

In 1950, the Department of the Interior was abolished and its functions were transferred to the Civil Affairs Office under the Office of the President. On January 6, 1956, the office of Presidential Assistant on Community Development (PACD) was created. The Department was restored on November 7, 1972, with the creation of the Department of Local Government and Community Development (DLGCD). In 1978, the DLGCD was reorganized and renamed Ministry of Local Government (MLG) and later as the Department of Local Government (DLG).

On December 13, 1990, Republic Act (R.A.) 6975 was signed into law creating the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail and Penology and the Philippine Public Safety College under the reorganized Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The new DILG merged the National Police Commission (NAPLOCOM), and all the bureaus, offices, and operating units of the former DILG under Executive Order No. 262. The passage of R.A. 6975 paved the way for the union of the local governments and the police force after more than 40 years of separation.