Banknotes of the Philippine peso
Philippine peso bills are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) for circulation in the Philippines. The smallest amount of legal tender in wide circulation is twenty pesos and the largest is 1000 pesos. The front side of each bill features prominent people in the country's history while the reverse side depicts landmarks and events in history. While the 5- and 10-peso denominations have been concurrently offered in coins in recent years, the 5- and 10-peso bills have not been demonetized.
5 pesos (replaced with coinage)
10 pesos (replaced with coinage)
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20 pesos
50 pesos
100 pesos
200 pesos
500 pesos
1000 pesos
2000 pesos
History of Philippine banknotes
On May 1, 1852, The first commercial bank of the Philippines, El Banco Espaňol Filipino de Isabel 2A issuing the following denominations initially 10, 25, 50 and 200 Pesos Fuertes (strong pesos).
By 1903, The American Insular Government issued the Silver Certificates in the denominations 2, 5, 10,20,50,100 and 500 Pesos backed by Silver Coin or U.S. Gold at a fixed rate of 2:1. The banknotes issued by today's Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas were the VICTORY-CBP Overprints in 1949, which were merely overprints of older American-era banknotes. The first official banknote series to be printed were the English Series in 1951, which was followed by the Pilipino Series in 1969. After the declaration of Proclamation No. 1081 by Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972 the Central Bank was to demonitize the existing banknotes in 1973. All the unissued Pilipino Series 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 piso banknotes were sent back to the De La Rue plant in London for overprinting the watermark area with the words "ANG BAGONG LIPUNAN" and oval geometric safety design.
In 1978, the Security Printing Plant in Quezon City was inaugurated to print Philippine peso banknotes. Many special events occurred during the Marcos regime, so the Central Bank, aside from minting expensive commemorative coins overprinted circulating banknotes the first was in 1978 for the birth centenary of former President Sergio Osmeña the words IKA-100 TAONG KAARAWAN 1878-1978 beautifully placed near the portrait of Sergio Osmeña on the 50-Piso bill. The next overprint was in 1981 when Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines from February 17 to February 21, 1981 the overprint was on the 2-Piso bill on the watermark area. Also on June 30, 1981 the bust profile of President Ferdinand E. Marcos on the 10-Piso bill was overprinted for the Presidential Inauguration on that date. In 1981 the Central Bank Ad Hoc Committee was formed to authorized to approve or disapprove designs of circulating banknotes and coins, also commemorative bills and coins.. By 1983, the Committee was deciding the issuing of new banknotes to replace the Ang Bagong Lipunan Series. By issuing seven new banknotes consisting of 5-, 10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 500- and 1000-peso bills.
On June 12,1985 the Central Bank issued a new 5-peso Banknote with the face of Emilio Aguinaldo. The following months, a new 10-Piso Banknote with the face of Apolinario Mabini. In early 1986, a new 20-peso banknote appeared. After the 1986 EDSA Revolution and the new 1987 Constitution was promulgated, the Central Bank issued a new 50-, 100- and for the second time a new 500-peso Banknote with the face of Benigno Aquino, Jr.. In 1991, the Central Bank issued for the first time a new 1000-peso banknote, containing the portraits of Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Vicente Lim.
After the passage of the New Central Bank Act of 1993, the New Design Series, which was initiated in 1985, was slightly changed because of new seal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In 1998, the 100,000-peso Centennial Banknote, measuring 8.5"x14", accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest legal tender note. It was issued in very limited quantity during the celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Independence. In 2001, the Bangko Sentral issued upgraded 1000-,500- and 100-Piso Banknotes with new hi-tech security features to combat counterfeiting. In 2002, the Bangko Sentral issued a new 200-peso banknote with the security features found on the upgraded 1000-, 500- and 100-peso Banknotes and has the face of former President Diosdado Macapagal. His daughter, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is at the back of the 200-peso banknote which showed her swearing into office in Edsa shrine. She is the first president in Philippine history whos image has been included in a banknote while in office.
Current banknotes
5-Piso
The 5-Piso was issued by the Central Bank on June 12 ,1985. The front side of the 5-peso bill features the portrait of Emilio Aguinaldo. The back of the bill features the Philippine declaration of independence by Emilio Aguinaldo on June 12, 1898.
The bill is predominantly colored green.
Security features of the bill include a security thread, scattered red & blue visible fibers, and fluorescent printing.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has stopped printing this banknote, and it is currently being replaced by equivalent coins. However, existing bills remain legal tender.
10-Piso
The 10-Piso Bill was issued months after the 5-Piso Bill was issued. The front side of the 10-Piso bill features Apolinario Mabini on the left and Andres Bonifacio on the right. Bonifacio was the founder of the Katipunan, a secret society established to fight the Spanish colonial government. Mabini was the Philippines first Prime Minister and Secretary of Foreign Affairs even though he was a cripple. Because of this, he was often called "The Sublime Paralytic". Depicted on the right side is one of the flags of the Katipunan (see Flags of the Philippine Revolution), the Kartilya ng Katipunan, and a letter written by Mabini.
The reverse side of the bill features the Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan, site of the first Philippine Congress and where the Malolos Constitution was drafted. The right portion depicts the initiation rites of the Katipunan. Members accepted into the society had to sign their name on the society's roster using their own blood.
Before 1998, the 10-Piso bill only depicted Mabini and the Barasoain Church. In recent years, the new bill has been replaced with a 10-Piso coin also bearing the effigies of Bonifacio and Mabini.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has stopped printing this banknote. However, existing bills remain legal tender.
20-Piso
The front side of the 20-Piso bill features Manuel L. Quezon, first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Along the right side of the bill are the coat-of-arms of the Commonwealth, and two of Quezon's notable accomplishments. The first is Wikang Pambansa, which is Tagalog for "national language". In 1937, the National Language Institute was founded to establish a single national language for the Philippines. This eventually became the Filipino language, which is largely based on Tagalog. The second was the Saligang Batas 1935 or the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. This was the first real constitution that was nationally effected and large parts of it survive in the current constitution.
The reverse side of the 20-Piso bill depicts Malacañan Palace, more popularly known as Malacañang Palace, the residence of the President of the Philippines, along the banks of the Pasig River. Quezon was the first Philippine president to live in the Palace.
50-Piso
Depicted on the front side of the fifty-piso is Sergio Osmeña, the second president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. He served as president from 1944, after Quezon's death, to 1946, when the United States granted the Philippines' independence.
The National Museum is featured on the reverse side of the bill. This building used to be the old Executive House building during the American period and was labeled as such in the fifty-peso bill until recently.
100-Piso
The front side of the 100-Piso bill features Manuel Roxas, the first president of the independent Philippine Republic. This independence is shown at the right side where the Philippine flag was raised and the American Stars and Stripes is lowered on July 4 1946.
The reverse side of the bill depicts the Manila compound of the Central Bank of the Philippines.
The 100-Piso bill is the smallest-valued bill to have the new security features implemented in recent years. But before the advent of the new security features, the 100-Piso bill is interesting for having other security features. On the front side is a barely visible "100" logo above the signatures of the president and the Central Bank governor. This logo is best seen on crisp new 100-Piso bills. On the reverse side, the top row of windows of the main building has the words "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas" running the whole length.
The 100-Piso bill became subject of controversy after bills printed in London in time for the Christmas season were printed with the President's name misspelled, the first in Philippine history. The bills, of which a small amount are in circulation and are still legal tender, spelled the President's name as "Gloria Macapagal-Arrovo" than the correct Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The BSP is probing the mistake and will correct the mistake as soon as possible.
200-Piso
The front side of the 200-Piso bill features the portrait of Diosdado Macapagal. It also features the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite.
The back side of the bill features a scene from EDSA II, with Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Macapagal's daughter, being sworn in as president by Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in January 2001. The little girl holding a Bible in between Arroyo and Davide is Cecilia Paz Razon Abad, daugther of former Philippine Education Secretary Florencio Abad and Batanes Representative Henedina Razon-Abad. [1]
The bill is predominantly colored green. This note is also a commemorative banknote, released in 2002 to commemorate Philippine independence.
The bill was subject of criticisms by the opposition. They said that the legal tender should only feature deceased national heroes and not an incumbent President. Although, it wasn't the first time that a legal tender featured a sitting President. In 1975, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas released a 5-Piso coin featuring the face of then President Ferdinand Marcos. Former Presidents Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada was also pictured in a limited commemorative 2000-Piso bill that honors the 100-year celebration of Philippine Independence. Also a limited commemorative gold 1000-Piso bill with the picture of former President Joseph Estrada was also issued to honor the 100-year celebration of Philippine Independence
Some critics including "running priest" Fr. Robert Reyes also pointed out that featuring Gloria Arroyo in the 200-Piso note could be an electioneering tactic ahead of the 2004 Philippine elections. [2]
500-Piso
The front side of the 500-Piso bill features the portrait of Benigno Aquino Jr.. To the right of the bill, there are two popular quotes from Aquino: "Faith in our people and faith in God", and "The Filipino is worth dying for". There is also the signature of Aquino, a typewriter with his initials ("B.S.A.J."), and a dove of peace. A Philippine flag is also to the right of his portrait, near the central part of the front side.
The reverse side features a collage of various images in relation to Aquino. He was (out of some of the pictures) a journalist for the Manila Times, a senator (the pioneer of the Study Now, Pay Later education program), the mayor in his hometown of Concepcion, the governor of Tarlac, and was the main driving force behind the People Power Revolution of 1986, some three years after his death in 1983.
Before this note was printed, 500-Piso bill was to have Ferdinand Marcos and its back was the Batasang Pambansa Complex until People Power Revolution when it was replaced by the current 500-Piso bill. Remnants of this bill are only for media purposes.
1000-Piso
The front side of the 1000-Piso bill features the portraits of Jose Abad Santos, Chief Justice; Josefa Llanes Escoda, civic worker and one of the founders of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines; and Vicente Lim, a general in the Philippine Army, first Filipino graduate of West Point: the three are considered heroes of the resistance against the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. It also features the eternal flame, laurel leaves, and bank seal.
The back of the bill features the Banaue Rice Terraces, Manunggul Jar cover and Langgal.
The bill is predominantly colored blue.
Security features of the bill include optically variable ink, a security thread, scattered red & blue visible fibers, and fluorescent printing. The words "Central Bank of the Philippines" are microprinted in the lower left border on the face of the note.
Higher denominations
The Central Bank of the Philippines issued only 300,000 pieces of this 216mmx133mm 2,000 Philippine Peso centennial commemorative legal tender banknote.
The obverse side features President Joseph Ejercito Estrada taking his oath of office on June 30, 1998 in the historic Barasoain Church, the seat of the first democratic republic in Asia shown in the background as well as the scroll of the Malolos Constitution and the seal of the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas).
The reverse side depicts the re-enactment of the declaration of Philippine Independence at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1998 by President Fidel V. Ramos and also features the Philippine Centennial Commission logo.
The security features of the note include a 3-dimensional cylinder mould-made portrait watermark of the two presidents and the years 1898-1998, iridescent band, color-shift windowed security thread, latent image and perfect see-through register.
The 100,000-Piso centennial note, measuring 8.5"x14", is accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest legal tender note in terms of size. It was issued in very limited quantity during the celebration of the centennial of Philippine independence in 1998.[3] [4]
![[4]](http://www.bsp.gov.ph/images/money_museum/discover/pictures/centennial.jpg){kind=link}