MANILA - Senator Manny Pacquiao said Tuesday he was open to "amicably settling" his P2.2-billion tax case with authorities.

"It is my desire to seek an end to the pending litigation because, as a Senator, I do not want to maintain a case against the government," Pacquiao said in a statement released by his lawyer, Tom Falgui.

Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay said on Monday that Pacquiao's lawyers had approached tax authorities to discuss a possible settlement.

The BIR under former commissioner Kim Henares said Pacquiao should pay taxes locally from his boxing earnings in 2008 and 2009, even if he had paid corresponding duties in the US where the fights were held.

"I was only forced to file a case in order to defend myself from the actions of the BIR which I believe were violative of my rights under the law," Pacquiao said.

"My only request from the lawyers of both parties is that the discussions be based on the evidence on hand and not on mere perceptions," he added.