It will be hard to hit tax collection targets this year, a Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) official in Iloilo said.

Aside from the country's economic slowdown, BIR Revenue Region 11 Director Alert Alocilja said other factors like the destruction caused by Typhoon Frank on Panay island last year and implementation of Republic Act 9504, which increases tax exemptions for minimum wage earners, could hinder tax collections.

To address the problem, Alocilja said that the BIR intends to strictly implement Oplan Kandado, which cracks down on establishments found violating BIR laws, especially those who fail to issue tax receipts and include Value Added Tax (VAT) in sales. He also said that they will closely monitor new businesses as well as the "underground economy."

Last year, the BIR Revenue Region 11 reported a tax collection of almost P5.2 billion , about 3 percent lower than its collection target of P5.4 billion. Last year's tax collection, however, was 16.3% higher than its total tax collection in 2007, which amounted to P4.4 billion. ---with a report from Gemma Villanueva, ABS-CBN News Iloilo