The Monetary Board, the central bank’s policy-setting body, awarded four supply contracts in the fourth quarter of 2023, valued at P4.714 billion in total and covering the production of Philippine peso banknotes in different denominations, the Commission on Audit said in a report.
The first contract signed on September 28 went to Germany-based Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology GmbH, with a contract price of 11.751 million euros, or P727.475 million.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the contract was for the “supply and delivery of 200,000 bundles of 500-piso New Generation Currency Out sourced Finished Banknotes with Enhanced Security Features and Tactile Marks.”
On Thursday last week, the Bangko Sentral unveiled the polymer banknote series of P500 bills.
The banknote now features the Visayan spotted deer and the flowering plant Acanthephippium mantinianum on its front side, replacing the portraits of the late senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and former President Corazon C. Aquino. The back side retained the image of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, blue-naped parrot, and southern Philippine weave design.
The second contract, awarded on October 5, 2023, went to Papierfabrik Louisenthal GmbH “for the supply and delivery of 75,200 reams of P100-piso enhanced New Generation Currency Banknote Paper.
Based on the central bank’s disclosure, the contract was valued at 42.431 million euros equivalent to P2.605 billion, at the prevailing exchange rate of 1.00 euro to P61.404 on August 4, 2023.
The P100 bill also got a facelift, with the portrait of former president Manuel Roxas replaced by the Palawan peacock-pheasant and Ceratocentron fesselii. The images of Mayon Volcano, whale shark, and the Bicol Region weave design were unchanged on the other side of the banknote.
The third contract also went to Papierfabrik Louisenthal GmbH, and was awarded on November 16, 2023. It involved the “Supply and delivery of 51,020 reams of P50-piso enhanced New Generation Currency Banknote Paper.”
The contract was valued at 18.542 million euros, equivalent to P1.113 billion, based on the prevailing exchange rate of 1.00 euros to P60.025 as of October 17, 2023.
The P50 polymer banknote no longer carried the image of former President Sergio Osmeña. Instead, the new banknote now featured the Visayan leopard cat. The images of Taal Lake, the native maliputo fish, and Batangas embroidery design stayed on the reverse side.
On December 14, 2023, the fourth contract was awarded to Surys for the “supply and delivery of 3,040 rolls Optically Variable Device Patch for 1,000-piso New Generation Currency Banknotes.” The contract was pegged at 4.432 million euros or P269.028 million based on the exchange rate of 1 euro to P60.697 as of November 28, 2023.
The new generation P1,000 paper bill used to bear the images of World War 2 Filipino heroes Josefa LLanes Escoda, Gen. Vicente Lim, and Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos. All three were removed from the new polymer bill and replaced by the images of the Philippine eagle and the sampaguita flower. But the images of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, South Sea pearl, and the T’nalak weave design were kept on the polymer banknotes.
