Meet the new BIR chief: Mendoza the ‘solution-finder’

Mendoza’s appointment is effective immediately and follows the sudden, unexpected departure of his predecessor, Romeo Lumagui Jr.

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Lumagui, who is reportedly close to the Marcos family and the First Lady’s legal circles, stepped down despite the BIR consistently meeting its collection goals—a performance some noted was relative to a lowered target.

Under Lumagui’s leadership, the BIR’s annual collections rose from P2.336 trillion in 2022 to a record P2.852 trillion in 2024. From January to September 2025, the agency collected about P2.32 trillion, an 11 percent increase year-on-year, keeping it on track for its P3.219 trillion full-year target.

The leadership vacuum at the BIR comes after Lumagui enacted a senior management shuffle, including installing a new head for the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS), a unit that audits the country’s biggest corporations and is critical to revenue stability.