BIR chief Mendoza goes to Customs, DOF usec Ligon is new tax chief

Detailed summary

The BIR continues to face extortion complaints while the Customs bureau is trying to address port congestion and other issues

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reshuffled the heads of the government’s top two revenue agencies, his third major leadership shakeup of these Department of Finance (DOF) offices since assuming the presidency in mid-2022.

In a statement on Thursday, November 12, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Charlito Mendoza confirmed that he is moving to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) replacing Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno.

“I look forward to working with the men and women of the BOC to carry out the priorities of President Marcos Jr. and [Finance] Secretary [Frederick] Go — strengthening border protection, sustaining revenue collection, and facilitating legitimate trade. We have important work ahead of us, and I am ready to get started,” he said.

Mendoza held the top BIR post for a year after Marcos appointed him on November 13, 2025.

The BIR continues to face complaints about corruption. Last September, a Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) officer testified before a Senate committee on trade, commerce, and entrepreneurship that BIR examiners were still extorting businesses via letters of authority (LOAs) and asking for illicit deals in exchange for tax settlements. Prior to that exposé, the BIR had vowed reforms in the LOA system. (READ: [Ask the Tax Whiz] Why is the BIR auditing your business?)

Finance Undersecretary Rolando Ligon Jr. replaces Mendoza in the BIR. As undersecretary, Ligon supervised the BIR and the Customs bureau. Ligon is the third BIR chief under the Marcos administration. Romeo Lumagui Jr. was Marcos’ first BIR commissioner and served from July 2022 to November 2025.

Ligon, more specifically, was the supervising finance undersecretary that handled the DOF’s Revenue Integrity Protection Service or RIPS. RIPS is officially described as the “anti-corruption arm of the DOF,” which investigates allegations of corruption in the BIR, Customs, and other finance-attached offices.

Ligon was a tax lawyer for the Campos…

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