OFWs have until tomorrow to register old bills for exchange

MANILA, Philippines -  Filipinos living and working abroad have until tomorrow to register their old peso bills for exchange with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The BSP said overseas Filipinos, Filipino immigrants and non-residents have only until March 31 to register up to P50,000 of their New Design Series (NDS) banknotes in the online registration for NDS Banknote System.

The central bank said NDS banknotes registered from Jan. 1 to March 31 would be accepted for exchange with new generation currency (NGC) banknotes Dec. 31 at any BSP office.

“NDS banknotes which have not been exchanged shall cease to be liability of the BSP and shall be demonetized,” the BSP said.

For overseas Filipinos, original passport and printed confirmation notice need to be presented to facilitate the NDS exchange, at face value, free of charge.

Additional documentary requirements are needed for Filipino immigrants and non-residents for the exchange of their NDS banknote holdings.

Aside from the original passport and printed confirmation notice, Filipino immigrants must present their birth certificate to support Filipino lineage, while non-residents must show proof of previous employment in the Philippines.

Last week, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo announced the Monetary Board has granted another three-month extension for the exchange of old peso bills as 284 million NDS banknotes worth P19.2 billion have not yet replaced.

Due to public clamor for a longer period of exchange, the central bank approved the extension of the deadline for the exchange of NDS to NGC bills to June 30 instead of March 31. This was the second extension granted by the BSP as it was first extended from the original end-December deadline to March 31.

After the extended deadline, the NDS bills would lose their value and could no longer be exchanged. The old design banknotes were no longer accepted in day-to-day transactions in January last year but could still be exchanged in banks and BSP offices.

As of Feb. 28, Guinigundo said a total of 284 million pieces of NDS banknotes worth P19.2 billion have not yet been exchange accounting for 8.6 percent of the total volume of 3.3 billion pieces of banknotes amounting to P983.3 billion in circulation.