MANILA, Philippines - Lovers beware. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has mobilized an army of 2,500 tax collectors across the country, about a fourth of its total manpower, to monitor for tax purposes all activities related to the celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Revenue chief Joel Tan-Torres said the revenue order authorizing the presence of BIR personnel in motels and hotels across the country was released since Friday, paving the way for the monitoring of people and vehicles patronizing these places on days before, during and after February 14.

“This is Project Valentine. We will be sending our people to motels and hotels across the country for surveillance purposes,” Tan-Torres said in an interview.

The object was to record the comings and goings of vehicles and people entering and leaving these establishments so that their owners may pay the correct tax.

According to Tan-Torres, motel owners are particularly prone to underdeclation of income generated during special days as St. Valentine’s Day, when people spend some private time together.

With BIR personnel around to monitor these activities, motel owners should hopefully turn in a more accurate count from which income tax will be levied.

He brushed aside concerns that the presence of tax collectors in these intensely private places will drive away customers.

“Our people will be discrete. They will be inconspicuous, merely noting the goings-on of cars and people [who] go to these places on February 14,” Tan-Torres said.

He also downplayed the likelihood that motel owners, fearing a sharp decline in patronage, will sue the BIR for undue interference in a commercial enterprise anchored on the guarantee of privacy for clients who come on special days like St. Valentine’s Day.

“Under the law, they may not seek restraining orders against the BIR because this is a legitimate tax-collection activity. I can send my people to these establishments and they can stay there [without being challenged],” he said.

In addition to motels and hotels, BIR collectors will also be sent to commercial establishments like various retail outlets, warehouses, bars and restaurants and even flower shops on February 14, he quickly added.

But those establishments voluntarily undertaking to submit significantly higher tax returns will be spared the hassle of a BIR presence on their premises.

“We will go after the bigger and more popular motel names. I already issued the revenue memorandum order detailing the procedure and guidelines,” Tan-Torres said.

That he meant business is a forgone conclusion, the BIR having missed its 2009 goal by some P50 billion or P60 billion and being tasked again this year to collect another P830 billion for the government. “The presence of the BIR in commercial establishments is allowed by law. They may not sue us,” he said.