According to Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, immediate action should be taken against such anomalies that arise. She emphasized that any issue of corruption should not be ignored.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito said that a large portion of the taxes collected from the LOA allegedly end up in the pockets of some employees of the agency. But Castro said he has not received any information that this was the reason for the departure of BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr.
Lumagui was replaced by Charlito Mendoza, former undersecretary of the Department of Finance. Malacañang has not yet released the reason for the sudden leadership change at the BIR.
Meanwhile, the Makati Business Club, the Federation of Philippine Industries, and the German-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry welcomed the decision of Finance Secretary Frederick Go and Mendoza to suspend the LOAs and mission orders for now. For them, this is a step towards transparency, accountability, and better tax administration.
