MANILA, Philippines—President Aquino told monetary officials that he practiced his penmanship for the new peso notes which will be in circulation starting Friday.
The complete set of Philippine peso bills bearing the signature of Mr. Aquino was presented to him Thursday in Malacañang by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) officials led by its governor, Armando Tetangco.
“(The President) narrated how he practiced to improve his penmanship and showed several practice sheets to us,” said Monetary Board member Ignacio Bunye, who was at the closed-door BSP presentation of the new peso notes.
The new peso bills have the same design and features as the existing ones.
Bunye said Mr. Aquino was pleased with the new peso notes.
The President confirmed his meeting with BSP officials on December 16, this time for the presentation of the first set of new generation currencies, according to Bunye.
He was referring to the launching next month of a new redesigned batch of bank notes that will feature an upgraded design and security features.
It was the first time Bunye and fellow Monetary Board member Peter Favila—who both served under then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—were with Mr. Aquino in Malacañang.
Bunye had served as press secretary and presidential spokesperson of Ms Arroyo, while Favila had served as her trade secretary.
Design, security upgraded
Fe de la Cruz of the BSP’s Corporate Affairs Office said the central bank had stopped printing peso notes bearing the signature of Arroyo when Mr. Aquino assumed office on June 30.
She said the current peso bills would “still be legal tender” and that these would “coexist” with the new redesigned bank notes to be circulated next month.
“For three or more years, the present design will still be legal tender,” De la Cruz told reporters.
She said the BSP was giving the present design at the most four years before these are demonetized.
“We can’t disclose the (new) design but we’d like to tell you we’re excited about it,” De la Cruz said.
Only the design and security features of the new notes will be upgraded, she said. The color of the new bank notes will be retained so as not confuse the people.
She assured the public that the security features would be “more difficult and more costly” for counterfeiters to copy.
The BSP prints about 2 billion pieces of bank notes every year.
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