P1,000 bill with portraits of heroes will not be demonetized — Palace

NEW DESIGN New P1,000 bills featuring the Philippine eagle (top) will be issued in April next year. The current note features three heroes who sacrificed their lives during the Japanese occupation. —PHOTO FROM BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS

MANILA, Philippines — The P1,000 bill with portraits of heroes will not be demonetized, Malacañang assured on Tuesday.

The remark came after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released a design of a P1,000 bill, replacing Filipino heroes—Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Brigadier General Vicente Lim, and Girl Scouts of the Philippines founder Josefa Llanes Escoda, who were killed during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines—with an endangered Philippine eagle.

“Itong bagong P1,000 bill featuring iyong Philippine Eagle po, iyan po ay iyong polymer series po natin na ginagawa naman po ng BSP as a test circulation din para malaman natin at ma-validate po natin kung totoo nga iyong polymer is more hygienic, more environmentally friendly and more secure kaysa sa mga dati nating ginagamit na materials for our peso bills,” acting presidential spokesperson Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said during the Palace press briefing, echoing BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno.

(This new P1,000 bill featuring the Philippine eagle is part of the polymer series that is subject to test circulation to validate if it is true that polymer is more hygienic, more environmentally friendly, and more secure compared to the materials we use for our peso bills.)

“So, hindi po ma-demonetize ang ating P1,000 bills featuring our three national heroes and martyrs. Ito lamang ay iyong featuring iyong Philippine Eagle ay for test circulation lamang po to test the polymer material,” he added.

(So, our P1,000 bills featuring our three national heroes and martyrs will not be demonetized. The design with the Philippine eagle is for test circulation only to test the polymer material.)

In an interview on Teleradyo earlier on the same day, Diokno said that changing the design featuring the Philippine eagle does not mean forgetting the country’s heroes.

“Hindi naman natin kinakalimutan ang mga bayani. Ang mga bayani magiging bayani ‘yan kahit nasa pera ‘yan o hindi. It was not an attempt to revise history. Hindi mo naman mapapalitan ang kasaysayan ng isang bansa,” he explained.

(We are not forgetting our heroes. Heroes will be heroes despite their portraits on bills. You cannot replace a country’s history.)

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JPV