No whitewash. No delay. No sacred cows.
Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Atty. Charlie Martin Mendoza has drawn a hard line—and 25 BIR personnel are already on the wrong side of it.
Facing the Senate blue ribbon committee, Mendoza confirmed that cases have been filed against 25 revenue officers over the alleged abuse and misuse of Letters of Authority (LOAs)—the powerful documents that trigger tax audits and investigations. Another 30 employees are under active investigation.
Message from the top: Abuse your power, and you will answer for it.
LOAs are not toys. They are not leverage tools. And under Mendoza’s watch, they are no longer weapons for extortion.
“Maliwanag sa aming Revenue Memorandum Orders—those who violate the rules will be held accountable,” Mendoza told senators, spelling it out plainly: administrative, civil, or criminal cases—pick your poison.
This is not a reform by memo. This is reform by action.
SYSTEMS, NOT SYNDICATES
Under RMO 1-2026 and RMO 8-2026, Mendoza lifted the suspension on audit operations—but with iron-clad safeguards designed to choke corruption at its source.
From now on:
•Only ONE LOA per taxpayer per taxable year
•LOAs will be system-generated, minimizing human discretion
•VAT audit sections and teams have been shut down
•Audit authority is now limited to regional offices and the Large Taxpayers Service
Translation: no more overlapping audits, no more fishing expeditions, no more backroom “discount” deals.
This is Mendoza dismantling an old, rotten system—piece by piece.
DISMISSALS ON THE TABLE
Asked if erring personnel could be fired, Mendoza didn’t blink.
Yes—dismissal from service is possible, especially if evidence shows a serious crime was committed.
And the cleanup doesn’t stop there.
The commissioner confirmed an ongoing reshuffling of Revenue District Office personnel, with more movements coming in the weeks ahead.
In other words, nobody gets comfortable. Nobody gets untouchable.
WHY THIS MATTERS
The BIR suspended audits last November after business groups—local and foreign—blew the whistle on a dirty scheme: LOAs allegedly used to pressure taxpayers into paying “discounted” bribes to avoid bloated tax assessments.
That scandal could have been buried.
Instead, Mendoza dragged it into the open—and went straight for accountability.
This is what reform looks like when leadership has teeth.
No spin. No sugarcoating. Just consequences.
Under Atty. Charlie Martin Mendoza, the BIR, is sending a warning loud enough for every corrupt insider to hear:
The LOA racket ends here.
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