Senate President Vicente Sotto III called on the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to develop a system that would allow business owners to verify the authenticity of Letters of Authority (LOA), amid ongoing allegations of misuse and extortion by some BIR personnel.

During a Senate inquiry into the alleged weaponization of LOAs on Thursday, Sotto stressed that taxpayers currently have no direct way to confirm whether an LOA they receive is legitimate without visiting a BIR office, a process that can be time-consuming and intimidating.

“You can check it yourselves if the LOA is on your list—it’s in the system, right? But what about the businessmen? If a taxpayer doubts whether the LOA is authentic or official, they still have to go to your office. It takes time. Shouldn’t the business owners also be able to check it?” Sotto asked.

A BIR official acknowledged that external stakeholders currently do not have access to the agency’s internal system.

Sotto emphasized the importance of preventive measures to curb abuse. 

“We have a saying: An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. This is prevention. If you have a system, create one that allows business owners to verify whether an LOA is legitimate. That would help a lot,” he said.

The Senate leader’s proposal comes amid mounting concerns about alleged harassment and coercion of taxpayers through the misuse of LOAs, highlighting the need for transparency and safeguards in tax administration.