The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas launched the redesigned Philippine Bank Notes replacing all the current bank notes circulating today. Considering that the current note designs have been around for more than two decades now except the ₱200 bill, no wonder many large syndicates can counterfeit the current bank notes whose security features have been developed for so many years now.
In general, all of the bills’ colors weren’t changed at all, but the faces were redrawn such that they portray the image of the person in the bill on their prime, when they were at their peak on serving the country. The most prominent examples are Manuel L. Quezon on the ₱20 bill and Sergio Osmeña on ₱50 bill, they look younger than their earlier portraits on the previous bank notes. But the most notable change was on the ₱500 bill, in which the previous design showed Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. with seemingly a sad face. On the new designs, Ninoy was shown laughing together with his wife, ex-President Corazon Aquino. Aside from that, it is worth mentioning that their only son, Benigno Aquino III, the present president of the Philippines has his signature affixed on the new bills. Another thing is that on the ₱200 bill, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo still appear on them, but much smaller and less prominent than the previous ones. Also, the designs on the reverse sides where changed such that it shows the Philippines’ tourist spots, possibly to attract foreign visitors to tour the country and raise the income from Tourism respectively.
This move of the BSP was highly anticipated due to its political leanings since both the current and previous presidents’ parents are portrayed in the bank notes. I personally think that this move can raise the value of peso and help the economy, since less money will probably go out of the country due to this. The coins are also planned to be redesigned. They’ll probably start planning in 2011 and hopefully will be done by 2013. Can’t wait to get my hands on them.