MANILA, Philippines ? Senator Panfilo Lacson has called for a ?tax revolt? against efforts by allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to amend the Constitution.

Businessmen and citizens should not pay taxes until there are clear signs that Charter change proponents have abandoned and until Arroyo steps down from office in 2010, Lacson said.

?Aside from being a protest move, this would ensure that our taxes will be safe from the propensity of officials of this administration to perpetuate themselves to power by dipping their hands into government coffers,? he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Lacson said the Arroyo administration used taxpayers? money to cheat in the 2004 presidential elections and in the 2007 mid-term elections.

He said businessmen could opt to hold on to their corporate dues until after the deadline of filing of certificates of candidacy in November while income tax payers have until April next year to see if Charter change proponents would abandon this move.

It will also be known by November if Arroyo would run for Congress in her home province of Pampanga, he said.

?At that point, we can already see a brewing scheme not only to prolong her power stint but also to change our form of government,? Lacson said.

When a new and acceptable president is elected in 2010, taxpayers could show the new leader their goodwill by paying correct taxes.

In the United States, Lacson said taxpayers also went on a similar ?revolt? to protest government spending on less essential programs earlier this year.