BIR plans to change logo, over 300 submissions made

After 120 years

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has received over 300 submissions from the public as it moves to change its 120-year-old logo and make it more representative of its mandate for nation building.

BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui said the revenue agency collected more than 300 entries for the contest it opened last month for the design of the new BIR logo.

Lumagui explained that the BIR logo is no longer relevant as it depicts purely industries such as manufacturing, telecommunications and shipping which used to be the major industries before.

“We have a lot of taxpayers now. I don’t like to see industries in the logo because we are all taxpayers. In fact, in aggregate, Filipino employees are the biggest contributor and yet they are not represented,” Lumagui told reporters.

“I don’t see the mission of the BIR in the logo. We are collecting taxes for nation building and upliftment of the lives of Filipinos, that’s what we should see, as well as integrity and professionalism,” he said.

Lumagui admitted that he was hesitant to proceed with the new logo given the controversial logo of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) which earned the ire of the public.

Lumagui said the BIR is only spending P175,000 for the logo, which will serve as the prize for the winners of the logo design contest.

The grand prize will receive P100,000 while a consolation prize of P50,000 and P25,000 will be given to the first and second runners-up, respectively.

Lumagui said the BIR has received generally positive comments since it launched the contest, evident in the number of submissions it received.

“I really believe that it has to be updated because it does not depict what BIR is now. And the logo has long been associated with bad perception,” Lumagui said.

“When I took over, my aim was to change the image of BIR so with the changing of the logo, we want to show that BIR is no longer what it used to be and we want to reflect the changes that we have done in the agency,” he said.

Once the BIR has chosen the best entry, the logo will be submitted to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for evaluation and necessary modification in accordance with the provisions of the Flag and Heraldic Code of the Philippines.

It will then be returned to the BIR for comments and finally to the Office of the President for final approval. Only then can the new logo be used officially by the BIR.

Lumagui said the changing of the logo will coincide with BIR’s 120th anniversary in August.