Jeffrey de LaraAs you may know from my previous post, I'm on a mission to solve the pain points of eBIRFORMS. This is after a few weeks of being their unpaid QA team because their system kept going down. They insisted it wasn't down—after all, the front page was up! But try actually using it and... well, let's just say the fun was just beginning.
After becoming their QA in production, they finally admitted and sorted things out. But then our company's TIN was missing from their records. There's always a catch, isn't there? So I waited a few more days, checking every day like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.
After a week or two, I decided to call. "Our TIN is not in the records," I said. They said they'd forward it to the IT dept. A few more weeks passed until our TIN finally appeared.
Then I applied for my BIR certification on March 12, 2026. Sent all the documents. Checked my email like a nervous dog waiting for a treat. Nothing. Complete silence. It's like shouting into the void and the void said "we'll get back to you... eventually."
Twelve days later—March 24th—I figured enough is enough. Time to call them up! How hard can it be to get a status update? Famous last words.
First call (1:30 PM): They gave me a number to call. Cool, easy peasy. I called that number. "I don't know what you're talking about." Hmm, interesting. Turns out the first person misheard me. Classic telephone game, government edition.
Okay, new plan. They said the person in charge is in a meeting and will be done at 2pm. Fine, I'll wait. I called at 2:15pm. Still in meeting. They promised to call back when done. Asked for my number. Aww, they care! How sweet!
3:25pm. No callback. You know what, I'll call them again. New person picks up. Gives me a NEW number to call and—they hung up. Okay then, note to self: don't interrupt their workflow!
I called the new number. No answer. At 3:43pm, I'm pretty sure the meeting ended and they all went home for the day. And that's the tale of my first BIR phone tag tournament!
Moral of the story? Getting BIR certified in the Philippines is basically a contact sport. You need patience of a saint, the reflexes of a ninja, and maybe a stress ball or two. Stay tuned—I'll probably need to call again tomorrow.
Anyone else been through this adventure? Please tell me I'm not alone here.