MANILA, Philippines--(UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has accepted the resignation of Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Sixto Esquivias IV, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Monday afternoon.

Malacanang will announce Esquivias's replacement Tuesday.

Earlier, Palace officials appeared to be in the dark as to the reported resignation Esquivias.

Remonde, in an earlier text message, said he was ?still checking facts? and that he could not reach Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

Palace spokespersons Anthony Golez and Gary Olivar also claimed they were unaware of the resignation.

In a Palace news briefing, deputy spokesman Anthony Golez said he has yet to get a confirmation on the report.

?I still did not have confirmation yet,? Golez said, adding that if reports were true, the resignation letter would be submitted to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

?Until we see a resignation letter, we take it at face value. Depende na lang kay President kung tatanggapin nya o hindi (It?s up to the President if she accepts it or not),? Golez added.

Reports from at least two newspapers quoting Teves said that Esquivias tendered his resignation on October 30. Teves, however, did not give details.

The BIR, which is under the Department of Finance, has been missing its collection target for the past couple of years.

In a separate phone interview, Quezon province Representative Danilo Suarez said he heard about the resignation from news reports.

?I don?t know the reason for the resignation?From January to this month, he managed to meet only two months? target, the rest he failed,? said Suarez, chairman of the oversight committee of the House of Representatives.

The congressman said the attrition law would be the best measure to use in gauging the performance of revenue-collecting agencies.

Under the Lateral Attrition Law, employees of the BIR and the Bureau of Customs shall be penalized if they fail to meet their revenue collection targets by at least seven percent. Penalties, which depend on the amount of shortfall, range from demotion to dismissal.

Those who exceed their goals shall be given monetary incentives.

Suarez said he has known Esquivias as a ?regular guy.? He added that the revival of Oplan Kandado, aimed to close down establishments who fail to remit taxes, has been ?quite effective.?

Esquivias, who started his career in the BIR as an examiner, was the third commissioner to resign in a span of three years.

The BIR, the main tax collection arm of the government, has targeted to collect P798 billion this year. Reports, however, said that from January to September this year, the BIR was only able to collect some P557 billion, which is P39 billion short of its collection target.