President Marcos names UP professor as budget secretary

MANILA, Philippines — A University of the Philippines assistant professor and former budget undersecretary has been named as chief of the Department of Budget and Management.

President Marcos has appointed Kim Robert de Leon, 32, as budget secretary, becoming the youngest member of his Cabinet, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said yesterday.

De Leon is expected to take his oath of office today, Castro said.

Meanwhile, former acting budget secretary Rolando Toledo will be appointed to the board of trustees of the Government Service Insurance System.

Toledo assumed the post in December 2025 following the resignation of Amenah Pangandaman, who was among those implicated by fugitive former congressman Zaldy Co in the supposed P100-billion insertions in the 2025 budget.

Pangandaman has denied Co’s allegations.

Toledo has expressed his “wholehearted support” to De Leon.

Institute for Risk and Strategic Studies chair Joey Salceda said De Leon “has an immense task ahead of him.”

“We have to disburse fast on the most high-return projects to eke out every extra basis point of GDP (gross domestic product) growth we can amid this fuel crisis,” Salceda said.

The GDP growth sharply slowed to 2.8 percent in the first quarter, from three percent in the fourth quarter and 5.4 percent in the same period in 2025, amid the Middle East crisis and flood control controversy.

P5 trillionbudget released

As of April 30, the government has released P5.52 trillion, or about 81.3 percent, of the P6.793-trillion national budget.

About P1.27 trillion has yet to be disbursed.

For unprogrammed appropriations, the DBM has released P79.89 billion to support foreign-assisted projects.

The bulk of this went to the Department of Transportation at P44.9 billion, followed by the Department of Public Works and Highways at P24.89 billion and Department of Social Welfare and Development at P9.59 billion.

Jonvic unaffected

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is unaffected by rumors of his dismissal following the shooting incident at the Senate and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s escape.

“Not at all. I serve at the President’s pleasure,” Remulla said.

Remulla said Dela Rosa is still in the Philippines, but he did not disclose the senator’s exact location.

Responding to former senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s tirades, Remulla said: “There’s a reason why Trillanes lost three elections in a row. Nauuna yabang kaysa mag-isip.”

Asked about rumors that Remulla may be replaced by Trillanes or former interior secretary Benhur Abalos, Castro replied: “We have not received such information.”

Castro said Remulla still enjoys the President’s trust. — Aubrey Rose Inosante, Emmanuel Tupas, Alexis Romero