THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas should temporarily suspend the production of the new P1,000 bill, which Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III yesterday said was “absolutely absurd” and “impractical” as far as the storing methods of Filipinos are concerned.
“The issuance of these polymer bills to replace our old banknotes is absolutely absurd. Our bills should be designed in such a way that they can withstand a minimum amount of abuse like crumpling and folding. Parang gusto pa yata nila ilagay sa frame ‘yung bills para kunwari matibay (It seems they would like to put the bill into a frame to make it look like it’s sturdy),” Pimentel said.
He also said replacing abaca with polymers as a material in bill production would adversely impact the abaca industry, which earns around $97.1 million per year through exports.
Citing data from the Department of Agriculture, Pimentel said the country tops the global abaca trade by supplying around 87 percent of the world’s abaca fiber requirements.
Pimentel also questioned the BSP for its “rather arbitrary and hasty changes in our monetary design for the purposes of crafting legislation on this matter.”
Sen. Nancy Binay has earlier said that the concurrence of Congress is needed before changing the design of the country’s legal tender, like in the renaming of streets, schools, and other government institutions.
Pimentel said he has filed a resolution urging the appropriate committee to conduct an inquiry on the BSP’s inclination to constantly change banknotes and coins and find out if other agencies are consulted before such design changes are implemented.
Pimentel’s statements are in reaction to the public backlash that BSP Governor Felipe Medalla got after he said that the new P1,000 bill should not be stored in wallets and purses to prevent them from getting folded.
The BSP had also earlier came up with a list of Do’s and Don’ts in handling and storing the polymer bill.
Pimentel said that while polymers were supposed to be sturdier than abaca, it does not have the flexibility that would allow the people to keep them in their pockets, purses, money clips, and small wallets.
Sen. Joel Villanueva said what the people need is a banknote that can be easily used in various transactions which have security features against counterfeiting.
“Kahit ano pa pong materyal ang gamitin ng BSP para sa ating bank notes, praktikalidad at seguridad pa rin po ang importanteng konsiderasyon sa bawat bagong disenyo ng ating salapi. Kailangan lang po na maging mas malinaw at mas masigasig ang BSP sa kanilang information campaign tungkol sa bagong polymer bills para hindi magdulot ng kalituhan (Whatever material the BSP may use for our banknotes, practicality and security should be the important consideration in every design of our money. The BSP should launch an aggressive and clear information campaign on these new polymer notes to avoid confusion),” Villanueva said.
The BSP has been in the receiving end of complaints with regards the guidelines it earlier issued on the handling and storage of the polymer bill, among them that the banknote should not be folded, or else it would be rejected by businesses.
A social media post has likewise become viral showing an SM department store cashier allegedly rejecting a folded P1,000 bill as payment by a customer.
The SM management has clarified the incident and said that “folded bank notes are still accepted in our SM retail stores. Only those that are mutilated – stapled and ripped caused by removal of staple wire – will be deemed unfit and not accepted. Our policy has considered the guidelines set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.”
On the other hand, the BSP has issued a clarification with regards its policy.
“The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) informs the public that folded banknotes, whether paper or polymer, can still be circulated and accepted for payment. As such, retailers and banks should accept them for day-to-day payment transactions,” it said.
