MCT DAILY BRIEF

NEW LEADERS FOR BIR AND CUSTOMS

The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs will have new leaders after a reshuffle involving the government’s two largest revenue-collecting agencies.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Mendoza is moving to Customs, where he will succeed Ariel Nepomuceno. Finance Undersecretary Rolando Ligon Jr., who heads the Department of Finance’s Revenue Operations Group, will take over the BIR.

The two bureaus do different jobs. The BIR collects internal revenue taxes, including income and business taxes. Customs collects duties and taxes on imported goods and is also responsible for enforcing rules at the border.

In a statement reported by GMA News, Mendoza said his new duties would include border protection, revenue collection and facilitating legitimate trade. He had led the BIR for about a year.

Changes at the top of these agencies come at a time when the government needs revenue to fund public services and meet its obligations. The appointments themselves, however, do not tell us what policies the new commissioners will pursue or whether collections will improve.

COMELEC: CONGRESS WOULD HAVE TO SET A NEW BARANGAY POLL DATE IF RULING IS REVERSED

The next barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections remain scheduled for November 13, 2028. But a request for the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision upholding the law that moved the polls has raised a question: who would set a new election date if the Court changed its mind?

Comelec Chairman George Garcia says Congress would have to do it. His explanation is that the commission’s authority to reset a postponed election within 30 days applies when the postponement is declared before the scheduled election day. The previous date, November 2, has already passed.

The dispute centers on Republic Act 12326, which sets five-year terms for barangay and SK officials and schedules the next regular elections in 2028. Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal challenged the law and has since asked the Court to partially reconsider its ruling.

Garcia was explaining what he believes would follow a reversal. The Court has not reversed its decision, and his statement does not create a new election date.

COURT DENIES REVILLA’S REQUEST TO SEEK EARLY DISMISSAL

The Sandiganbayan has denied former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. permission to file a demurrer to evidence in his malversation case involving an alleged ₱92.8 million ghost flood-control project in Pandi, Bulacan, according to the court’s clerk.

A demurrer is a request to dismiss a case on the argument that the prosecution’s evidence is insufficient. Revilla first sought the court’s permission to file one, attaching his proposed demurrer to his request. The court denied that request and noted the attachments, the clerk said.

The ruling does not mean Revilla has been convicted. He is out on bail. The Philippine Star reported that the court had earlier noted, in relation to bail, that the prosecution had not shown proof that he had explicitly or implicitly agreed to receive a kickback.

The defense is scheduled to begin presenting evidence on November 24, according to the report. The allegation that the project was a ghost project remains part of the case, not a final finding stated here.

GOVERNMENT CHECKS CLAIMS OF MORE DATA BREACHES

Hackers have claimed breaches involving around 20 government agencies, but investigators are still checking the claims and whether some material being presented as newly stolen data came from older leaks.

Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center executive director Renato Paraiso gave that estimate based on alleged hacks whose authors posted purported data as proof. It is not the same count as the 10 agencies that had notified the National Privacy Commission of incidents involving possible compromise of personal information.

Paraiso said some data appeared to have been stolen, while investigators were still examining whether the datasets were new and whether they included personal information. He said vulnerabilities exposed in the BIR and Securities and Exchange Commission incidents had been contained and remedied.

The distinction is important for anyone trying to assess the scale of the incidents: a hacker’s claim, an agency’s breach notification and a completed investigation are different things. The counts should not be treated as a confirmed list of 20 newly breached agencies.

COURT FREEZES ASSETS IN CORRUPTION INVESTIGATION

The Court of Appeals has issued a freeze order covering bank accounts and other property connected to an unnamed lawmaker and a businessman who previously held government office, the Anti-Money Laundering Council said.

According to the AMLC statement reported by The Philippine Star, the November 9 order followed an investigation connected to an Ombudsman complaint over alleged corruption involving government contracts. The agency did not identify the two people or disclose the value of the assets covered.

A freeze order temporarily prevents covered property from being withdrawn, transferred or disposed of. It is intended to preserve those assets while the legal process continues. It is not a conviction or a finding of guilt.

The AMLC also referred to a separate civil-forfeiture petition involving another legislator. The two proceedings should not be assumed to involve the same people or assets.