MANILA, Philippines -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue?s senior deputy commissioner, Joel Tan Torres, said on Tuesday, he has been instructed to assume the functions of the BIR commissioner, pending the appointment of a replacement for Sixto Escuivias IV.

Escuivias resigned last week and in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, he said that he quit his post over the large shortfall in the government tax collection.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Torres said several important measures would be implemented to improve tax collection, including a tax on campaign spending and tighter monitoring on the income of retailers in bazaars and retail stores this Christmas season.

"We intend to put in new measures in the withholding tax system starting with 5 percent tax on campaign spending."

"We will put up a tax monitoring system for bazaars and retail stores for the Christmas shopping season. We will start plugging loopholes of forthcoming and existing tax incentives that dilute revenue generation," Torres said.

Torres was asked about Narciso Santiago?s job as head of the BIR?s large taxpayer?s unit. (There were reports that Esquivias quit because he did not favor Santiago?s appointment to the sensitive position. Esquivias had denied the reports.)

Torres said there would be "no changes in mandate of Santiago's office to help enhance large taxpayer collection. We are coordinating with him on that."

Torres said the reasons Esquivias gave for his resignation should be respected at face value. "I hand-carried Esquivias? resignation letter. There was no controversial element in it," he said.