by Ruscelle Ureta

President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos, Jr. has named a fresh set of nominees for the two top posts in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). He also called another retired general to head the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) in his incoming administration.

"Marcos has chosen Lilia C. Guillermo, a former Deputy Commissioner of the BIR, to head the country's leading tax collection agency as Commissioner-designate," said press secretary-designate Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles.

Guillermo is currently the Assistant Governor at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the BSP Technology and Digital Innovation Office Head, and manages the BSP's I.T. Modernization Roadmap of 2018-2033.

She successfully implemented the Philippines Tax Computerization Project, which established a modern tax collection system for the BIR and the Bureau of Customs (BoC).

Guillermo's strong background in Information Technology and her almost four decades of service at the BIR complements President-elect Marcos' objective of boosting the country's revenue through efficient tax collection.

Cruz-Angeles said, "Joining Guillermo at the BIR is Atty. Romeo "Jun" Lumagui Jr., whom the President-elect nominated as Deputy Commissioner for Operations-designate. 

"Lumagui," the press secretary-designate said, "is a tax lawyer with decades of experience who once served as the Regional Investigation Division Chief of Revenue Region No. 7B East NCR."

Cruz-Angeles added that President-elect Marcos also nominated retired PNP Deputy Director, General Ricardo de Leon as National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) Director-General-designate.

A member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) "Matatag" Class of 1971, De Leon is currently the President of the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC).

With the nomination, De Leon would become part of the President-elect's security cluster with other officials from the departments of National Defense, the Interior and Local Government, Foreign Affairs, and DOJ; the Armed Forces of the Philippines; Philippine National Police; National Bureau of Investigation.