The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has released the Philippine New Generation Banknotes this massive redesign for current banknotes and coins to further enhance security features and improve durability. Well I think it’s about time to change the old banknotes with new ones. The new banknote design features famous Filipinos and iconic natural wonders. Philippine national symbols will be depicted on coins. The new bills will make it more difficult for counterfeiters to copy while easier for people to determine counterfeits. The said bills will be in circulation this December. But the old bills will still be accepted within the next three years. All six banknote denominations – including P20, P50, P100, P200, P500, and P1, 000 – have new designs but the old colors were retained. All six bills have now had new designs, which were especially designed to upgrade their security features so the public would easily detect if the money is real or fake. The blue-colored P1, 000 bill still features World War II heroes Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Gen. Vicente Lim; the yellow P500 bill now features the late President Aquino and late Sen. Aquino. President Aquino were very happy because three Aquinos will feature in the P500 bill, the P500 bill bearing the images of his parents – the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino Jr. and the late former President Corazon C. Aquino – and his signature as president.
The green P200 with the late President Diosdado Macapagal; the purple P100 with the late President Manuel Roxas; the red P50 with former President Sergio Osmeña; and the orange P20 with former President Manuel Quezon. On the reverse side, the P1, 000 bill now features the 130, 00-hectare Tubbataha Reefs National Park and the South Sea Pearl Pinctada Maxima, while the P500 bill features the eight-kilometer Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan and the blue-napped parrot known as Tanygnathus Lucionensis. On the reverse side of the P200 bill, the inauguration of former President Arroyo was replaced with the Bohol Chocolate Hills and the tarsier. The P100 bill features the Mayon volcano and the whale shark locally known as butanding, while the reverse side of the P50 bill features Taal Lake and the maliputo fish. The P20 bill features the Banaue Rice Terraces and the palm civet of the Cordilleras.
Though several errors have been discovered on banknotes of the New Generation series. Among these are the exclusion of Batanes from the Philippine map on the reverse of all denominations, the mislocation of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean Underground River on the reverse of the 500-peso bill and the Tubbataha Reef on the 1000-peso bill, and the incorrect coloring on the beak and feathers of the blue-naped parrot on the 500-peso bill. The scientific names of the animals featured on the reverse sides of all banknotes were incorrectly rendered as well.
So what’s new with these banknotes?
- More realistic portraits of former Philippine presidents and heroes
- Tourist destinations and notable animals found in the country on the reverse
- New BSP logo and Republic of the Philippines Seal
- New euro-like design with large numbers for easy identification.
- Security features are spruced most noticeably the serial numbers which some might find weird and the security thread which is wider. A foil-like optically variable device is found in the new 500 and 1,000 peso bills.
- The paper used is “hygienically treated” or has anti-bacterial properties.
Well I can’t wait to see it with my own eyes and hold it on my hands. ;D
