BSP warns anew against defacement of peso bills

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) renewed yesterday its warning to the public that the willful defacement, mutilation, tearing, burning or destruction of Philippine banknotes and coins are punishable under the law.

In a warning against the improper handling of Philippine currency, the central bank said violation of Presidential Decree 247 is punishable by a fine of not more than P20,000 or imprisonment of not more than five years.

The law states that Philippine banknotes and coins are issued for circulation as medium of exchange and to utilize them for other purposes does not speak well of the due respect and dignity befitting the currency.

The BSP said prohibited acts of defacement or mutilation of Philippine currency include writing or putting marks on banknotes; willful tearing, burning, or destruction, in any manner, of Philippine currency as well as the willful and excessive folding or crumpling that results in a breakdown of the structure and limpness of the banknote.

Willfully causing multiple random folds across the entire banknote that toughly affect its visual appearance and willfully exposing banknotes or coins to chemicals or other materials resulting in the acceleration of the defacement, destruction, or natural wear and tear of the note or coin are also prohibited.

Likewise, the BSP also discouraged the stapling of banknotes or use of adhesives on banknotes and coins as these would compromise their structural integrity.

The BSP has continued to provide timely, good-quality and adequate currency to meet the requirements of the growing economy. The total currency in circulation rose by nearly 14 percent to P1.3 trillion as of end 2017.

A total of 4.4 billion pieces of banknotes were delivered for the 2017 order. The delivery consisted of about 3.3 billion pieces outsourced finished banknotes and 1.1 billion pieces produced in-house finished bank notes.

Likewise, a total of 2.3 billion pieces of coins were delivered to the Currency Issue and Integrity Office (CIIO) consisting of various denominations of the BSP Coin Series and 5-piso New Generation Currency (NGC) coins.