Palace rigodon goes full steam

The shuffling of key officials in the Marcos administration cranked into full gear yesterday, affecting several revenue-generating agencies and the supposedly independent Commission on Audit (CoA).

The changes included appointing former Commission on Audit (CoA) chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba as Supreme Court associate justice, leaving the country’s constitutional auditing body without a chairperson.

Former Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) director general Tereso “Theo” Panga will move to the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) as executive director, while former Bureau of Customs (BoC) Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno will take over as president and chief executive officer of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA).

BCDA chief Joshua “Jake” Bingcang, meanwhile, will replace Panga at PEZA.

The reshuffle also affects the government’s two major revenue-generating agencies. Former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza will return to the BoC as its new chief, while Department of Finance (DoF) Undersecretary Rolando Ligon Jr. will take over at the BIR.

Cordoba’s appointment to the Supreme Court leaves the CoA chairperson position vacant.

In a ceremony in Malacañang on Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. swore in Nepomuceno as the new BCDA president and chief executive officer.

“The marching orders of the President to us is to produce thousands of jobs for our ‘kababayan’. We will do our best to invite more investors, as we know we have less than two years to do the job. I’m aware of the job in the ecozone, as I was the former general manager of Food Terminal Inc. during the term of President Arroyo,” Nepomuceno said after the oath-taking.

President Marcos also directed Mendoza to continue the reforms Nepomuceno started.

Customs needs boost

Mendoza is expected to strengthen revenue collection, intensify actions against smuggling, and improve the movement of goods through the country’s ports.

These reforms will help protect government revenues, support legitimate businesses, facilitate trade, and ensure that public resources are available to fund programs and services for Filipinos.

Marcos, meanwhile, directed the BIR to continue its reforms under the leadership of Ligon.

With his experience in both the BIR and the BoC, Ligon is expected to make tax compliance more accessible while strengthening measures against tax evasion.

Bingcang gets BCDA

“An electrical engineer, he holds an MBA from the University of the Philippines. His experience helping develop New Clark City gives Bingcang a practical understanding of what investors need to establish and grow their businesses,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing at the International Media Center at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

“His mission is to bring more investors into our economic zones and make it faster and easier for them to set up, expand, and hire Filipino workers,” she said.

Castro also announced the installation of then PEZA director general Panga as the new chief of the Toll Regulatory Board.

“The President is putting experience to work toward clear results, economic zones that attract investments, businesses that create jobs, and government services that people can rely on,” she said.