The Making of Philippine Peso
It’s quite a long time since we refurbished our bank notes. The 200 peso bill was the last one. After that, I was really expecting that 500 and 1000 peso bill will be the next. But that didn’t happen. So I feel a little excitement when I overheard that newly-designed peso bills will be circulating in the country for the next few months.
Let me discuss the things I saw in the new peso bill that fascinated me: First, it makes history. The late president Corazon Aquino accompanying her husband Ninoy Aquino in the 500 peso bill is remarkable, not to mention that their son, President Noynoy Aquino will have his signature on the bill.
Secondly, the new bills presented the newest ‘stars’ of the Philippine tourism industry-- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Taal Lake, Puerto Princesa’s Subterranean River National Park, Mayon Volcano, Banaue Rice Terraces, and the Bohol Chocolate Hills. What’s also notable is that they used pictures which signify the rich wildlife resource of the country. From kulasisi, alamid, maliputo, and tarsier down to the iconic butanding. I was also amazed with how the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) played with the designs by combining the wildlife symbols with the pictures of country’s natural wonders printed at the back of the bill. Thumbs up for the mere fact that they considered the MOST deserving symbols and not just the famous ones we’ve already seen!
However, for me, the color is too bright that it looks like play money. This new design of the peso bill also earned much criticism from the Filipinos. The said bills were allegedly ‘riddled with errors.’ One of the said errors is the wrong color of the blue-naped parrot featured in the reverse side of the 500 peso bill. The rare bird was reportedly depicted having a yellow beak instead of a red one, while its tail feathers were printed in green instead of yellow.
Some wants the new design to be discarded because of the errors which have been discovered. But why can’t we just
Let me discuss the things I saw in the new peso bill that fascinated me: First, it makes history. The late president Corazon Aquino accompanying her husband Ninoy Aquino in the 500 peso bill is remarkable, not to mention that their son, President Noynoy Aquino will have his signature on the bill.
Secondly, the new bills presented the newest ‘stars’ of the Philippine tourism industry-- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, Taal Lake, Puerto Princesa’s Subterranean River National Park, Mayon Volcano, Banaue Rice Terraces, and the Bohol Chocolate Hills. What’s also notable is that they used pictures which signify the rich wildlife resource of the country. From kulasisi, alamid, maliputo, and tarsier down to the iconic butanding. I was also amazed with how the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) played with the designs by combining the wildlife symbols with the pictures of country’s natural wonders printed at the back of the bill. Thumbs up for the mere fact that they considered the MOST deserving symbols and not just the famous ones we’ve already seen!
However, for me, the color is too bright that it looks like play money. This new design of the peso bill also earned much criticism from the Filipinos. The said bills were allegedly ‘riddled with errors.’ One of the said errors is the wrong color of the blue-naped parrot featured in the reverse side of the 500 peso bill. The rare bird was reportedly depicted having a yellow beak instead of a red one, while its tail feathers were printed in green instead of yellow.
Some wants the new design to be discarded because of the errors which have been discovered. But why can’t we just