MANILA - THE Philippine government urged to lawmakers on Wednesday to consider four new tax measures, including additional levies on beer and tobacco, despite their reluctance to approve so-called 'sin taxes' with elections just a year away.

A senior legislator said after the meeting with top officials that the new bills would be considered next week.

The bills could add as much as 35 billion pesos (S$1.1 billion) a year to revenues. The failure to legislate new tax bills could put more pressure on the government's fiscal deficit that is already set to balloon to a six-year high this year.

'We do need the help of Congress,' Finance Secretary Margarito Teves told reporters after the meeting with senior members of the lower house of Congress.

Some lawmakers said last week there was no more time for those bills. Mr Teves said the government promised to help lawmakers look for alternatives to the sin taxes, as long as extra revenues were generated to cover the growing budget deficit.

'Our actual deficit for the first quarter has exceeded the programmed deficit by over 9 billion pesos,' he said. 'There was no commitment, but they said they will try something.'

Exequiel Javier, head of the ways and means panel of the House of Representatives, said legislators had scheduled a public hearing on new tax measures next week, denying earlier reports that Congress had shelved the sin taxes.

'I hope we can reach a compromise,' he told reporters. 'We are willing to craft a bill that will probably be the compromise. So we will continue on the sin taxes, there's no truth that the committee has shelved the bill.'

The finance department wanted Congress to set a uniform but higher tax on products such as tobacco and beer this year. But legislators were unlikely to approve any new tax measures this year with an election are so close, said Danilo Suarez, author of a bill increasing cigarette and liquor taxes.

'I have my doubts it will be passed because of the strong lobby against the measure...I am not getting the proper support from the committee,' he said last week. -- REUTERS