Duterte, a close ally of President Aquino, made the comment following reports he was among two Mindanao leaders short-listed for the post.
The other Mindanao official is Saranggani Governor Miguel Dominguez.
Duterte said he remembers Robredo as a “very simple man, an honest-to-goodness government worker.”
He said he had known Robredo since 1988.
“He was a very simple man. That’s what I can say of him,” Duterte told the Inquirer.
He said he had always rejected offers in the past for him to head the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) because of his lack of qualification.
Then president Fidel Ramos wanted to take in Duterte as DILG secretary but the latter rejected it. When Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became presidents, Duterte was offered the same post.
“I’m not qualified before, I am not qualified now,” he said.
Duterte disclosed that before Robredo was named DILG secretary, President Aquino had already offered him the post but he declined it.
“I don’t want to accept any national post (because) I am not qualified,” Duterte, a lawyer by profession, said.
Dominguez, also an Aquino ally, on the other hand told a local TV network here that he was honored to be included in the shortlist.
Although he did not categorically say he would accept the post if he was named into it, Dominguez said “as a public servant, we are here to serve.”
The Inquirer learned that Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquiao has also endorsed Dominguez for the post.