BIR chief hopes Manny wins over Bradley

MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Henares may be targeting Manny Pacquiao in her campaign to make people pay their taxes, but she hopes for his success.

In a televised press conference on Thursday, Henares said her "wish" is for the Filipino eight-division champion to finally secure a decisive victory over American boxer Timothy Bradley.

Henares advised Pacquiao in jest not to think about her in the ring during his April 13 fight.

The gun-loving bureaucrat remains steadfast in her campaign against the boxer, who also was listed as the country’s wealthiest member of Congress last year. Pacquiao is a representative of Sarangani Province.

Last week, Henares irked Pacquiao's camp after she told reporters that she hopes the fighter learned his lesson after his assets were placed under a garnishment order.

"You gotta be ashamed to yourself, lady. He is the icon of the Philippines fighting anything that he is required to do there’s no reason why he can’t do next Monday or Tuesday rather than two or three days before one of the biggest fights of his career," Bob Arum, Pacquiao's boxing promoter, said.

Read: Henares expecting 32% from Pacquiao's next purse

In a separate interview with TV5 on Thursday, Henares said she did not intend to nag the boxer to pay taxes from his guaranteed $20 million purse from his next Las Vegas match.

"Hindi naman ho ako nagre-remind sa kanya, tinatanong lang ako [ng media]. Kung tama ang gagawin n'ya, baka wala naman siyang babayaran sa Pilipinas kasi baka mas mataas ang babayaran n'ya sa Amerika," she said.

Pacquiao has been embroiled in a tax trouble with the BIR and the US Internal Revenue Service. Henares had declared that the champion fighter owes $50 million in back taxes from 2008 to 2009.

Special coverage: Pacquiao-Bradley 2: The Rematch