Marcos appoints DOF’s Charlito Mendoza as new BIR chief

Mendoza’s appointment paper was signed on Tuesday, Nov. 12. He currently heads the DOF’s Revenue Operations Group, which supervises both the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

A top Bar placer and results-oriented technocrat, he joined the DOF in 2024 as part of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto’s team.

Before joining the department, Mendoza served as Customs Port of Cebu District Collector from 2019 to 2022, where he led record-breaking revenue collections and secured ISO 9001:2015 certification for the port — a first for any customs district in the country.

Read on X: President Marcos replaces Romeo Lumagui Jr. with Finance Undersecretary Charlito Mendoza as BIR commissioner. @manilabulletin

He holds a Law degree from San Beda University, where he ranked third in the 2004 Bar Exams, and a Geodetic Engineering degree from the University of the Philippines. He also previously practiced as a law firm partner and bar review lecturer.

Meanwhile, 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.

It is yet to be determined if Lumagui, a long-time lawyer and close ally of the Marcos family, resigned, was fired, or will be reassigned to another position. — Argyll Cyrus Geducos