Pacquiao vs Henares

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) expects Sarangani Rep. and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao to have learned from his tax battle with the bureau, and accurately settle and report his taxes in connection with his much anticipated bout with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in May.

BIR Commissioner Kim Henares said Pacquiao should properly and accurately report to the BIR the taxes he will be paying the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and submit supporting documents authenticated by the Philippine Embassy in the US.

Henares also reminded Pacquiao to withhold taxes from salaries and other payments he makes to his employees and staff.

Pacquiao and the BIR are in a legal battle in connection with his alleged deficiency income tax and value-added tax (VAT) assessments for taxable years 2008 and 2009 amounting to P2.2 billion.

Pacquiao will meet Mayweather in a mega-fight in Las Vegas on May 2.

The Richest Fight in History

If not the biggest boxing event of all time, it sure will be the richest with a reported $250 million being split $150m to Mayweather and $100m to Pacquiao in a single fight deal. Some industry pundits say these figures could be a little exaggerated with the purse more likely to be $200m, split $120m and $80m respectively by Mayweather and Pacquiao.

The current record for pay-per-view buys is 2.5 million for the Mayweather/Oscar De la Hoya fight, while the current record for the most pay-per-view revenue in a boxing fight is $150m for the Mayweather/Canelo-Alvarez fight. This fight will likely eclipse both these records in a rare joint PPV split between the Showtime and HBO networks. The pay-per-view TV charges are expected to be somewhere around $85 on HD.

In addition to the rich TV rewards, there will be a $40m gate at Mayweather’s favourite stomping ground, the MGM Grand. Ticket pricing hasn’t been confirmed yet, but it won’t come cheap. With the $350 to $2000 tickets for the Mayweather/Canelo-Alvarez fight selling out in less than 24 hours, it is expected that there will be a significant increase on these prices.

Stephen Espinoza, the General Manager of Showtime Sports, said in a statement: “Everyone involved, including Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, knows this fight simply had to happen. All of us are thrilled to be able to deliver this event to boxing fans around the world.”

The fight should put an end to the speculation about who is the greatest boxer in this era, and also stop the taunts that Mayweather has faced about ducking the fight in order to protect his undefeated status. Of all the possible fights talked about for the last five years, boxing fans around the world are most looking forward to the Mayweather/Pacquiao pairing. If the fight itself turns out to be as spectacular as they all hope, May 2nd 2015 will be a great day for the sport.

Binay described the surge in Pacquiao's survey rating as "good news."

Binay, who is chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and a leading bet for the presidency in 2016, had said last August that Pacquiao was in his wish-list of personalities he will tap to be in his United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial lineup when he guns for the presidency in 2016.

Pacquiao won a second term as Sarangani representative under the UNA banner but maintains a local party called People’s Champ Movement.

Asked if his presence at the airport to welcome the Vice President was a "show of support" for the beleaguered Binay who is facing corruption charges, Pacquiao skirted the issue and said that it was just his “duty (as Sarangani congressman) to welcome the second highest official in the land.

From the airport, Binay and Pacquiao went to the General Santos Public Market where they partook in a boodle fight with market-goers.

On the other hand, Binay described the surge in Pacquiao's survey rating as "good news."

A Pulse Asia survey conducted from Sept. 8 to 15 this year showed Pacquiao's chances of winning a senate seat improving to 31.3 percent from 25.6 percent in a June survey, putting him in 11th to 16th places.

The Vice President had earlier said that he would love to have Pacquiao, as well as Senator Ralph Recto, in his senatorial lineup.

Should they agree, they would join a powerhouse UNA senatorial slate that would include to the Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza, Senator Tito Sotto, and Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian as Binay's senatorial bets.