MANILA, Philippines ? Faced with a revenue shortfall in the first two months of the year, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has tapped boxing hero Manny Pacquiao for a 30-second television commercial to be launched Wednesday to remind people to pay their taxes.

BIR commissioner Sixto S. Esquivias IV and Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves also appear in the ad.

While the TV ad will be launched on Wednesday, of its airing on TV networks may take a little longer because air time is expensive and the BIR is short of funds, Esquivias said.

The ad is meant to kick off this year's BIR campaign for the tax season.

Last month, Teves announced that the government has revised yet again the budget deficit for this year, setting it at P177.2 billion on account of a stimulus program that seeks to spend hundreds of billions of pesos on infrastructure and social services.

Malacañang first pegged the deficit at P40 billion but increased it to P102 billion as the effects of the global financial crisis worsened.

After speaking at a tax seminar at the New World Renaissance Hotel in Makati, Esquivias said the BIR was hard-pressed to improve collection especially after suffering a P2-billion shortfall in the first two months of the year.

The BIR's target for January and February was about P100 billion while the target for the first quarter was P165 billion.

The BIR chief appealed to taxpayers to pay the right amount, saying their participation as responsible citizens was key to achieving the government's revenue program.

"I'm on my knees begging you to not forget your duties as citizens of the Philippines," he told those who attended the seminar organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Pacquiao himself went to the BIR headquarters in Diliman, Quezon City on January 23 to personally file his 2008 Income Tax Return (ITR). He paid the tax due in the presence of Esquivias.

Pacquiao's initiative of filing early led to a pledge to make himself a more visible example of a good taxpayer, which in turn led to the production of the ad.

Esquivias urged taxpayers to file their taxes before the deadline and pay the correct taxes at authorized banks to avoid the rush on April 15.

He said banks would be open only on one Saturday, April 4, to accommodate taxpayers before the deadline because the second week of the month is Holy Week.

Revenue district offices will be setting up filing centers in selected places all over the country to help taxpayers in filing their ITRs, the BIR chief said.

Esquivias said the BIR would soon issue implementing guidelines for other acceptable modes of payment that the bureau would adopt to ease the payment process.