The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) today expressed its strong support for Finance Secretary Frederick Go’s initiative to take additional measures to curb the alleged abuse and misuse of Letters of Authority (LOAs) within the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
PCCI said the move is a welcome and timely step toward strengthening taxpayer protection, restoring confidence in tax administration, and ensuring that enforcement powers are exercised fairly, transparently, and within the bounds of the law.
“PCCI supports decisive reforms that will curb abuse affecting all types of taxpayers—individual or corporate,” said incumber PCCI President Enunina Mangio. “Tax enforcement must be firm, but it must also be fair. Any misuse of audit and investigation powers erodes trust, creates uncertainty for businesses, and discourages voluntary compliance.”
The Chamber noted that businesses have long raised concerns over certain tax audit instruments, such as the LOAs and even Mission Orders (MOs) for activities that go beyond limited fact-finding, audits continuing beyond the validity or scope of issued authorities, overlapping or repeated audit notices for the same taxable periods, and the lack of transparency or traceability in the issuance and monitoring of audit authorities. These practices, when left unchecked, expose taxpayers to undue pressure and weaken confidence in the tax system.
PCCI emphasized that while strong enforcement is essential to revenue generation, it must be balanced with clear safeguards to protect due process and ensure accountability on both sides. Properly issued, time-bound, and digitally tracked audit authorities are critical to maintaining a level playing field and preventing abuse.
The Chamber further noted that these reforms have important implications for investment promotion, as they represent another step in protecting foreign investors from the abusive or arbitrary use of audit authorities. Clear rules, consistent enforcement, and strong safeguards against misuse of LOAs and MOs are essential to strengthening investor confidence and reinforcing the Philippines’ reputation as a fair, transparent, and predictable place to do business.
“Protecting taxpayers from abuse is not anti-enforcement—it is pro-good governance,” Ferrer added. “The reforms Sec. Go are introducing are another important steps in protecting foreign investors from the abusive audit practices and in sending a clear signal that the Philippines values fairness, predictability, and investor confidence.”
“We at the Chamber look forward that through the BIR-Private Multisectoral Group (BIR-PMSG), we will strengthen collaboration with our economic managers and the BIR to support reforms that promote transparency, accountability, and investor confidence”, Ferrer maintained.
The BIR-Private Multisectoral Group (BIR-PMSG) is a coalition of business organizations coordinating with the BIR to work on tax issues and concerns.
