The Philippines in 1904

Do you know that in 1904, the Philippines, its culture and people, became a sight for all the world to behold, not in our own country, but in the star spangled nation of the USA, no less.  However, it was not in the way we Filipinos, especially today, would have wanted it to be. 

The St. Louis World's Fair 110 years ago was World Expo of grandiose scale that ran from April to December and participated in by 45 nations.  The US, in particular, was eager to show off to the whole world its latest spoils, the latest addition to its growing colony.  And show off they did in the grandest of scale, with the Philippine Exposition occupying 47 acres of land and boasting more than a hundred replicated structures to give the audience a genuine feel of the tropical islands. Of course for authenticity, they shipped in actual natives on the show, over a thousand of them in fact.  It had all been but fun for our kinsmen back then, no thanks to our benevolent white brothers who made a circus of the "savage" tribesmen. All that happened while the Philippine-American War raged on back in our native homeland.  It was indeed a grand event that we Filipinos would be so glad as to erase from history altogether.

Not everything that happened in 1904 was cruel or humiliating though. The year also marked the birth of one of the prestigious state universities to date, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.  Likewise, the Marikina Watershed Reservation came to be.

It was also during that year, on the first of August, wherein the Bureau of Internal Revenue became a formal office under the helm of Henry Ide, Finance Secretary, and John S. Hord, the very first "Collector".  There were 69 officials and staff running the organization.  In contrast, the agency now boasts over ten thousand employees all across the country and is run by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.  It remains dedicated to collecting taxes that is the lifeblood of this country and continues to strive towards excellent, efficient and transparent service, in the hope of uplifting the life of every Filipino, so that one day our peoples will never be ogled at by the rest of the world as they had been back then.

To know more about the BIR, its programs and accomplishments, visit the BIR website. Like their fan page at https://facebook.com/birgovph or follow them at twitter at https://twitter.com/birgovph.

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