Finance Secretary Frederick Go has affirmed full support for BIR reforms, including a temporary suspension of Letters of Authority (LOAs) and Mission Orders under Revenue Memorandum Circular 107-2025, as the agency addresses Senate concerns over audit abuses. This follows BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza's announcement requiring his office's clearance for all LOAs, made during a December 11 Senate Blue Ribbon hearing.
Building on his December 11 Senate Blue Ribbon committee testimony—where BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza first required all LOAs to receive clearance from his office to eliminate arbitrariness and overlapping audits—Mendoza has confirmed a temporary suspension of LOA issuance as part of broader modernization efforts.
Responding to Sen. Bam Aquino, Mendoza emphasized near-time monitoring via an integrated digital system and ordered a technical working group to compile audit histories and reports for the probe. Finance Secretary Frederick Go, who upon taking office suspended all field audits for review, reiterated the Department of Finance's cooperation, highlighting reforms to protect taxpayers from red tape, misuse, and extortion.
Key changes under RMC 107-2025 prohibit creating or serving LOAs/MOs during suspension. Go detailed a forthcoming digital system to automatically select audit targets, voiding non-compliant issuances, alongside a portal for tracking pending LOAs and restrictions limiting approvals to the commissioner or deputies only.
Sen. JV Ejercito endorsed digitization to curb corruption and suggested body-worn cameras for examiners. Mendoza stressed promoting voluntary compliance through fairness. These steps aim to strengthen oversight amid ongoing Senate scrutiny of LOA abuses.
