FORMER Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda on Tuesday expressed confidence in the appointment of Professor Kim Robert De Leon as Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), citing his strong grasp of the budget process and policy work.
Salceda recalled working closely with De Leon when the latter was still DBM undersecretary, particularly during congressional deliberations on key budget measures.
“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 in a statement.
“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,” the former lawmaker added.
Salceda also underscored De Leon’s academic work, saying his research on the budget process has long been valuable to policy practitioners.
“As professor, his papers on the budget process have been invaluable sources for those who work in policy,” Salceda said.
Salceda noted that he is currently barred from publicly discussing his views on the budget process because of his ongoing role as amicus curiae before the Supreme Court in the case involving unprogrammed appropriations, where the DBM is a respondent.
He said De Leon faces a major challenge as the government seeks to accelerate spending on high-impact projects amid the ongoing fuel crisis.
“Secretary 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 growth we can amid this fuel crisis,” Salceda said.
“And we have to prioritize releases for projects that address supply chain issues and help reduce the price of the most basic goods,” Salceda added.
