House members past and present have hailed President Marcos' decision to inject young blood into his team of economic managers by tapping public finance practitioner and University of the Philippines (UP) professor Kim Robert de Leon as Department of Budget and Management (DBM) secretary.

Welcoming this move are Deputy Speaker La Union 1st district Rep. Paolo Ortega; Deputy Speaker Zambales 1st district Rep. Jay Khonghun; and former three-term Albay congressman, econimist Joey Salceda.

De Leon previously served as DBM undersecretary from 2021 to 2022, later became undersecretary at the Department of Transportation (DOTr), worked in the Office of the President (OP), and taught at UP-Diliman.

Ortega says De Leon’s background is significant because the DBM plays a central role in government accountability and public trust.

The 33-year-old's Cabinet member's youth is also a bright point, as Ortega said younger leadership in fiscal governance could help modernize outdated systems--provided it is accompanied by institutional discipline and openness to legislative oversight.

“Youth in leadership must translate into speed, innovation, and courage to fix weak systems. We hope Secretary De Leon will use his mandate to make budgeting more transparent, evidence-based, and responsive to ordinary Filipinos,” Ortega said.

The House leader said the appointment comes at a crucial time as public demand continues to grow for greater transparency in appropriations, tighter safeguards against questionable insertions, and clearer monitoring of how public funds are released and spent.

“The national budget must be more than a spending plan. It must be a public trust document—clear enough for citizens to scrutinize, disciplined enough to prevent abuse, and managed in a way that ensures every peso is spent prudently and reaches the people it is intended to serve,” Ortega said.

He added that the House is prepared to work closely with De Leon and the DBM in pursuing progressive budget reforms, including stronger digital tracking of allocations, clearer disclosure of budget adjustments, tighter standards for fund releases, and more measurable outcomes for government programs.

Khonghun said of the development at DBM: “The President brings in young blood and fresh outlook in his Cabinet with Secretary de Leon’s appointment."

He said that although De Leon came from the academe, he was not new to public service, given his previous tenure in DBM and DOTr.

“We hope he brings to DBM fresh energy, vitality and ideas, which he will need in helping the President put together a national spending program that will address the ongoing oil crisis and economic slowdown, and provide assistance and relief to our suffering people,” he said.

He pointed out that De Leon assumes the DBM top post at a most opportune time, since the executive branch is preparing the proposed national budget for 2027, which the President is expected to present to Congress after his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.

“Though the budget call starts in the first quarter, he still can have his inputs in the preparation of the spending program. We expect to soon see his imprint on budgeting and fiscal management,” noted the Zambales solon, who along with Ortega are members of the House "Young Guns" bloc.

Salceda--who is no stranger to the national budget process and fiscal management--only has good things to say about De Leon as well. He cited a specific instance wherein he saw the young man's brilliance.

"When I was in the House plenary defending the Budget Reform Act, which would have capped unprogrammed appropriations to just 2 percent of the National Budget, Secretary-designate Kim de Leon was Undersecretary of the DBM. He very ably supported my plenary defense," Salceda said.

"He also competently supported me in my plenary defenses of the General Principles of the 2020, 2021, and 2022 budgets. He has the policy handle needed for the job. As professor, his papers on the budget process have been invaluable sources for those who work in policy," added the Bicolano.

Salceda says that De Leon "has an immense task ahead of him".

According to Malacañang, De Leon is the youngest member of the Cabinet and the youngest ever budget secretary.