President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday swore in University of the Philippines professor Kim Robert de Leon as acting secretary of the Department of Budget and Management in Malacañang.
At 32, de Leon becomes the youngest member of the Cabinet and takes charge of one of the administration’s most powerful fiscal agencies.
He comes from the University of the Philippines Diliman, where he graduated magna cum laude and class valedictorian in public administration, later pursuing further graduate studies in urban and regional planning.
De Leon also topped the 2016 Environmental Planning Licensure Examination and completed additional training in business process management from Queensland University of Technology.
His return to DBM marks a familiar posting, having previously served as undersecretary of the agency from 2021 to 2022.
He later moved to the Department of Transportation in a similar capacity before taking on other government assignments.
The leadership change follows a series of shifts at the DBM in recent months after former officials linked to controversies involving multibillion-peso flood control projects left their posts.
De Leon is expected to take on a central role in shaping the proposed 2027 national budget as the administration pushes fiscal reforms and tighter spending oversight.
