Recto sees BIR ‘in good hands’ under Mendoza
“We will miss Usec Charlie at the DOF (Department of Finance), but I believe the BIR needs him more at this time. I trust that under his leadership, the BIR will meet and even exceed our revenue targets,” Recto said. “Above all, I trust that he will always keep the well-being of our taxpayers at the heart of all your efforts.”
Mendoza, who served as finance undersecretary for the revenue operations group since April 2024, was appointed by President Marcos on Wednesday, replacing Romeo Lumagui Jr.
As undersecretary at the DOF, he had been supervising both the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
A key part of his role was leading the BRAVE campaign that sought to curb smuggling and illicit trade through digitalization. The initiative helped the DOF exceed its revenue target in 2024, reaching a 27-year high of P4.42 trillion, or 16.7 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
BRAVE stands for border security enhancement, revenue collection and revenue-base protection, adaptive regulations and compliance monitoring, vigilant enforcement operations and vigorous intelligence gathering activities, and effective engagement with stakeholders and interagency cooperation.
Customs stint
Prior to his DOF stint, Mendoza served as customs district collector for the Port of Cebu from July 2019 to October 2022. During his term, the Port of Cebu became the first customs collection district to have its main port and all subports getting ISO 9001:2015 certification, the international standard for a quality management system that helps organizations consistently meet customer and regulatory requirements.
Mendoza earned his law degree from San Beda University and finished third in the 2004 bar exams.
He was also the founding partner of the law firm Palafox Patriarca Romero and Mendoza and was an associate lawyer at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala and Cruz Law Offices (Accralaw) and the Suarez and Narvasa law office.
The reason for Lumagui’s exit from the BIR remains unclear, even as Recto thanked him “for being a great partner and a fearless leader in our shared effort to ensure a reliable revenue flow for our people and to reform the tax system.”
“Under his leadership, we have seen a stronger and more credible BIR,” Recto added.
Lumagui, who was appointed in November 2022, oversaw a 13.29-percent increase in BIR collections, which reached a record-high P2.85 trillion in 2024.
In the first nine months of 2025, BIR collections rose 10.88 percent to P2.32 trillion from the same period last year, but were still slightly lower than the P2.38 trillion target for the third quarter.
The former BIR chief also spearheaded the agency’s efforts to streamline and modernize tax administration through a digital transformation program, which introduced the Online Registration and Update System (Orus), a web-based platform for taxpayer registration and management.
He also led the agency’s crackdown on the illicit trade of excisable goods, including cigarettes and vapes, conducting operations on 378 stores across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao in the first-ever nationwide raid in 2023.
Suing Discayas
Civil, criminal, and administrative cases against sellers, users, and professionals involved in the sale and use of ghost receipts were also filed during his tenure through the Run After Fake Transactions (RAFT) drive.
Under his leadership, the BIR filed tax evasion charges against contractor couple Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II and Cezarah Rowena “Sarah” Discaya in connection with P7.18 billion in tax liabilities from 2018 to 2021.
But Lumagui admitted a decline in tax collections due to the infrastructure corruption scandal.
