Filipino families feeling the squeeze from rising household expenses are getting a direct message from the government’s tax authorities: relief cannot wait forever.

The Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are pushing a two-track approach—immediate relief where it can be delivered now, and broader reforms designed to reshape the tax system for the long haul.

At the center of the immediate move is BIR Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 97-2026, which removes VAT on the allowable system loss charge within the Energy Regulatory Commission-approved cap.

For ordinary consumers, the issue is painfully simple: every peso taken off an electricity bill matters.

And behind the implementation is BIR Commissioner Atty. Charlito Martin R. Mendoza, whose agency is tasked with translating tax policy into something taxpayers can actually feel in their daily lives.

MENDOZA: RELIEF MUST REACH THE TAXPAYER

This is where tax reform gets real.

It is no longer merely about technical provisions, memoranda and bureaucratic language. It is about the family sitting at the kitchen table, looking at an electricity bill and asking where the money will come from.

The BIR’s implementation of the VAT measure puts the spotlight on Commissioner Mendoza and the agency’s responsibility to ensure that legitimate tax relief is properly carried out.

But the government is not stopping there.

GO’S BIGGER TAX-REFORM PUSH

DOF Secretary Frederick D. Go is advancing ProGRESS, the department’s proposed broader tax reform package.

The objective is bigger than a single tax adjustment.

ProGRESS seeks to provide meaningful tax savings while maintaining the government’s capacity to finance essential public services.

That is the difficult balancing act: give taxpayers breathing room without weakening the government’s ability to fund the services Filipinos depend on.

And that is where the battle over tax reform becomes much bigger.

FROM QUICK RELIEF TO DEEPER REFORM

The immediate VAT relief addresses a specific burden.

ProGRESS, meanwhile, represents a broader policy direction.

One is relief today.

The other is structural reform for tomorrow.

For Secretary Go and Commissioner Mendoza, the challenge is to make sure these two tracks move together—not against each other.

Taxpayers want relief. Government needs revenue. Public services need funding.

The real test is whether reforms can deliver all three.

NO ROOM FOR EMPTY TAX TALK

Filipinos have heard enough promises about making the tax system simpler, fairer and more responsive.

What matters now is execution.

If tax relief is authorized, taxpayers should be able to see its impact. If broader reforms are proposed, their costs, benefits and implementation should be clearly explained.

No smoke. No complicated excuses. No endless waiting.

The direction being laid out by the DOF and BIR is clear: immediate tax relief where possible, followed by broader reforms aimed at building a more responsive and sustainable tax system.

For Mendoza, the mission is implementation.

For Go, the challenge is reform.

And for millions of Filipino taxpayers, the bottom line is brutally simple:

WHEN TAX RELIEF IS POSSIBLE, DELIVER IT. WHEN REFORM IS NEEDED, DO IT RIGHT.

Because at the end of the day, tax policy is not just about collections, regulations and government spreadsheets.

IT IS ABOUT THE MONEY LEFT IN THE POCKETS OF FILIPINO FAMILIES.

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