New peso bills win international award

MANILA, Philippines - An international organization composed of central banks, currency-issuing authorities, currency producers and suppliers has recognized the new peso bills launched by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last December.

The BSP said in a statement that the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA) has recognized the new peso notes - dubbed as the New Currency Generation (NGC) series - as one of the two finalists for best set of new currencies in the world.

The winner of the Best Currency Award was the new series of shilling notes from Uganda while the other finalist was the new series of rupee from Sri Lanka.

However, the new Philippine bank notes was given a special award for best security features. The citation was given to the NGC’s optically variable device (OVD) patch feature present in the new P500 and P1,000 bills.

The BSP said the security feature consisting of the reflective foil that bears the image of the BSP logo with a parrot in the P500 bill and the South Sea pearl inside the clam in the P1,000 bill would make it difficult for counterfeiters to imitate.

BSP Monetary Board member Armando Suratos and BSP Deputy Governor Juan de Zuñiga received the awards during the ceremony held in Singapore last Oct. 5.

Immediately after its launching in Malacanang last December, the NGC series elicited criticism due to flaws and errors in designs, including the inaccurately designed Philippine map and the wrong color of the beak of the blue-naped parrot featured in the P500 bill.

Released in December 2010, the new Philippine peso bills featured new designs for the P20, P50, P100, P200, P500 and P1000 notes, as well as new security features to prevent counterfeiting.

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 Corazon Aquino and late Sen. Benigno Aquino; 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 Osmena; 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 inaguration of former President Arroyo as the 14th president was reduced while Bohol Chocolate Hills and the tarsier were added.

The P100 bill features Mayon Volcano and the whale shark locally known as the 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 animal palm civet in the Cordilleras.