Welcome home, De Leon!

The celebratory hangover is far from over for newly minted Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon.

It was a homecoming of sorts at the University of the Philippines last June 2, as the academe welcomed the 32-year-old back to Diliman, filling its halls with institutional pride as faculty, peers, and officials gathered in support of their faculty-member-turned-Cabinet-official.

De Leon is no stranger to excellence, graduating magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Public Administration degree from the UP National College of Public Administration and Governance (NCPAG) in 2014.

He also holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the UPD School of Urban and Regional Planning, eventually coming full circle to teach at his alma mater in 2019.

So it’s no surprise when the university’s heavyweights — including UP President Angelo Jimenez, UP Vice President for Planning and Finance Joselito Florendo, and NCPAG Dean Kristoffer Berse — were practically beaming the entire night.

But De Leon, while expressing gratitude to the university for his education and formative years in public service, made clear that the spotlight was never meant to rest on him alone.

“When it was officially announced, it was very clear that this is not, and will never be, about me. This is about the struggles of Filipinos every day: the effects of inflation felt by households; the challenges of students and their competitiveness in this fast-paced and technology-driven time,” he said.

For a man tasked with holding the nation’s purse strings, the young secretary is already proving he has what it takes to match his heavy fiscal responsibilities.

Also in his speech, De Leon quipped: “Dapat walang kalihim, dahil walang lihim.

Surely, the Diliman crowd is betting big that their star academic won’t just keep the economy afloat, but will actually revamp the Philippine national budget. —Nyah Genelle C. De Leon

Wilcon’s board gets fresh faces

Three independent directors stepping down at the same time may look like a major board shakeup. But in Wilcon Depot Inc.’s case, it was less about strategy and more about regulation.

The home improvement retailer disclosed that independent directors Ricardo S. Pascua, Rolando S. Narciso and Delfin L. Warren ceased serving on June 15 after reaching the maximum cumulative term of nine years. The company said the changes were made because the directors had already hit the allowable limit for independent board members.

At its annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday, shareholders elected three new independent directors—Lydia B. Echauz, Florencia G. Tarriela and Arthur N. Aguilar—to replace the outgoing board members. The company also retained four returning directors, including president Lorraine Belo-Cincochan.

The move comes as more listed firms face the same governance deadline, forcing boards to refresh their independent director roster after years of service.

Separate disclosures also showed the appointment of Eden M. Godino as executive vice president for sales and retail stores operations and Alen E. Alban as vice president for marketing, signaling broader efforts to strengthen the company’s leadership bench.

Wilcon’s latest move shows that even seasoned directors eventually have to make way when governance rules come calling. —Emmanuel John B. Abris