The New Generation Philippine Banknotes: A Preview

After several years, Philippine bank notes get a much-needed overhaul. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) unveiled the bank notes’ new designs, as well as its new security features. Amando Tetangco, BSP Governor said the new currencies took three years to complete, from conceptualization and printing. He said the new bills will make it “difficult for counterfeiters to copy while easier for people to determine counterfeits.” Tetangco said the new bank notes “combine new and familiar elements.” 


“We retained colors to make sure people don’t get confused,” he added. 


The bills will be in circulation last December, 2010 while the old bank notes will still be accepted within the next three years. On December 16, 2010, the new design for Philippine banknotes were released. However, the P500 bill now features former President Corazon Aquino, whose photo is placed beside her husband, Benigno "Ninoy" S. Aquino, Jr. It also depicts a smiling Ninoy, a far cry from his forlorn image in the current P500 bill.

“The decision to honor Cory Aquino in the P500 note was announced in the week that she passed away, long before their son ran for president,” said Tetangco.

The P500 bill also makes history by having both parents with the signature of their son, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, added Tetangco.

Pres. Aquino said it makes him happy “as a son and as a Filipino” to have his parents on the same bank note where his signature appears.

“It is a testament to what they sacrificed for our people, and a testament to their love for our country,” said Aquino.

The 50-year-old bachelor President also said it serves as a “constant reminder for me that my parents were more fortunate than I in finding that person that made them whole and allowed them to achieve the heights that they did.”

All six denominations — P20, P50, P100, P200, P500, and P1,000 — have new designs and security features. Below are the new designs:

> P20 bill

Obverse: Pres. Manuel L.Quezon, the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth & the Father of the Philippine Language.

Reverse: Banaue Rice Terraces and a palm civet from the Cordilleras, which are famous for producing the alamid coffee.

> P50 bill

Obverse: Pres. Sergio Osmeña, second President of the Philippine Commonwealth, who led our country from the critical stages at the end of the World War II as well as our transition to an independent nation.


Reverse: Taal Lake and the Giant Trevally

(locally known as Maliputo), a delicious milky
fish which thrives only in the waters of the lake.

> P100 bill

Obverse: Pres. Manuel A. Roxas, last

President of the Philippine Commonwealth

Republic & First President of the Third Republic, who prioritized the crafting of the Central Bank Charter & providing the leadership for the re-construction of our country from a devastation of the Second World War.

Reverse: Mayon Volcano and “butanding” or

whale shark, the world’s largest living fish which is the main attraction of Donsol, Sorsogon.

> P200 bill

Obverse: Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, the fifth President of the Third Republic who started Land Reform & restored the celebration of Philippine Independence to June 12.

Reverse: Chocolate Hills and the Philippine

tarsier, one of the world’s smallest primates.

>P500 bill


Obverse:Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, the first lady President of the Philippines & Mother of Philippine Democracy who restored democracy after the historic & peaceful

EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986 and Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., who stand up against Martial Law.

Reverse: Puerto Princesa Subterranean
River National Park and the blue-naped parrot, which thrives in the forests of 
Palawan and Mindoro.


> P1, 000 bill

Obverse: The three war-time heroes: Josefa Llanes Escoda, founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines(GSP) who showed her  extra-ordinary courage to help the prisoners of war; Brig. Gen. Vicente 
P. Lim, the first Filipino Westpoint graduate who directed the military activities even in his hospital bed; and Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court Jose Abad Santos who was murdered from refusing to cooperate  with Japanese forces.

Reverse: Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and theworld famous South Sea Pearl, which is 
produced by oysters that thrive in the South Seas which the Sulu Sea is located.

The images of the national figures on the obverse side of the bills show them at a younger age. Fe Dela Cruz, director of the BSP’s Corporate Affairs Office, said in an ambush interview the younger images were chosen because the public servants and heroes on the bank notes served the country during their prime.

The new security features of the bank notes include embossed prints, serial numbers, security fibers, watermarks, security thread, optically variable device, optically variable ink, and a see-through mark. The features increase as the value of the note goes higher.

The see-through mark is the word “Filipino” written in Baybayin, a pre-Spanish Philippine writing system, which is only seen in complete form when the note is viewed against the light.

A banknote’s design is first conceptualized before it is drawn by an artist into a prototype banknote. Once the prototype has been approved, printing plates will be produced.

The production of banknotes consists of litho printing; intaglio printing; sheet inspection; numbering; tinning (where numbered sheets are inspected every tenth sheet to check if there are defects); and finishing which includes cutting, counting and packaging, according to the BSP.

The inclusion of Pulau Karakelong of Indonesia

Several errors have been discovered on banknotes of the New Generation series and have become the subject of ridicule in social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter & Google. Among these are the exclusion of Batanes island from the Philippine map on the reverse of all denominations, the inclusion of Pulau Karakelong of Indonesia on the reverse of all denominations, the dislocation 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.

Watch this video to know better about the New Generation Banknotes.