PRESIDENT MARCOS APPOINTS KIM ROBERT DE LEON AS NEW DBM SECRETARY

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Kim Robert de Leon as the new Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), a Malacañang official announced Monday.

In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said De Leon, currently the youngest member of the Cabinet, is expected to take his oath of office on May 19, Tuesday.

According to Castro, De Leon is “recognized for his work in fiscal management, organizational reform, and digital transformation.”

De Leon also graduated as Magna Cum Laude and Valedictorian from the University of the Philippines-National College of Public Administration and Governance (UP-NCPAG).

“He also topped the 2016 Environmental Planning Licensure Examination and holds Master’s Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and Public Safety Administration with Academic Honors,” the Palace Press Officer added.

Castro further stated that De Leon “obtained a Certificate in Business Process Management from the Queensland University of Technology in 2021 under the Australia Awards Scholarship Program.”

Previously, De Leon was an Assistant Professor at the UP-NCPAG. He also held key positions in government, including as DBM Undersecretary, handling the Organization and Systems Improvement and Information and Communications Technology Groups, and as Undersecretary for Administration and Finance under the Department of Transportation.

Meanwhile, DBM former Acting Secretary Rolando Toledo, Castro said, will be appointed to the Board of Trustees of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), a state-run social insurance program that provides guaranteed benefits to government employees and retirees.