BSP: 'Old' bills to remain in circulation for at least 3-4 years

Even as it started gradually introducing the new generation of bank notes, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas assured the public Friday that the old bills will remain good for at least three to four years. In a radio interview, BSP corporate affairs director Fe dela Cruz said the present bills will be gradually phased out and their circulation may last even longer than three to four years, if the public so requests. "The public should not worry about the value of the present bills. The BSP will have three to four years before deciding whether to nullify the old banknotes or not," she said in Filipino in an interview aired over dwIZ. If in the end there will be strong clamor to retain the circulation of the old bills, the BSP shall consider requests for retention, she added. The BSP introduced the new banknote designs Thursday at a launching rite in Malacañang in the presence President Benigno Aquino III. Dela Cruz said the phasing in of the new designs and the phasing out of the old ones will be gradual, starting with the P20 bills, in time for Christmas. "Starting today [Friday] the BSP will release the new P20 design to the banks because the P20 bills are traditionally given to children at Christmas," she said in Filipino. "The distribution and phasing in will be gradual, so we ask the public to be patient," she added. In the meantime, she said the BSP will continue to produce enough bills for circulation. The six denominations — P20, P50, P100, P200, P500, and P1,000 — have new designs and security features, and present famous Philippine tourist attractions. The new features are as follows:

P20 bill Obverse (front): Manuel L. Quezon Reverse (back): Banaue Rice Terraces and a palm civet from the Cordilleras, which are famous for producing the civet cat coffee or kapeng alamid. P50 bill Obverse: Sergio Osmeña Reverse: Taal Lake and the Giant Trevally (locally known as Maliputo), a delicious milky fish P100 bill Obverse: Manuel A. Roxas Reverse: Mayon Volcano and the "butanding" or whale shark, the world's largest fish and the main attraction of Donsol, Sorsogon P200 bill Obverse: Diosdado Macapagal Reverse: Bohol's Chocolate Hills and the Philippine tarsier, one of the world's smallest primates P500 bill Obverse: Corazon Aquino and Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. Reverse: Palawan's Subterranean River National Park and the blue-naped parrot, which thrives in the forests of Palawan and Mindoro P1,000 bill Obverse: Josefa Llanes Escoda, Vicente P. Lim, and Jose Abad Santos Reverse: Tubbataha Reef Marine Park and the South Sea Pearl, which is produced by oysters that thrive in the South Seas of which the Sulu Sea is part

Click here to see the new designs in full screen. Meanwhile, Dela Cruz said the BSP is considering producing commemorative editions of the new designs. “Pinag-iisipan kung magkakaroon ng special allocation for collectors, napakarami naming request na natatanggap (We are considering producing a special allocation for collectors. There have been many requests for the new design)," she said. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV