MANILA (UPDATE) - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas confirmed Friday that images of Philippine heroes are not featured in the new series of polymer banknotes. 

Atty. Sarah Severina Curtis, director of the BSP Banknotes and Securities Production Management Department, said the images of heroes have been removed from the new P500, P100 and P50 banknotes but will remain in paper banknotes that are already in circulation.

Instead, the new banknotes will feature native and protected animals and plants alongside traditional local weave designs. Among the animals featured in the notes are the Visayan spotted deer, Palawan peacock pheasant and whale shark.

“‘Yung sa heroes…wala pong pagtanggal. Dagdag lang ito sa mga disenyo sa banknotes. We want to also feature what other elements of Filipino identities are (sic) Bukod sa heroes, we are also known for our rich biodiversity kasi ,so ‘yung mga endemic, endangered species unto naman natin I-feature,” Curtis said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.  

Curtis noted the Philippines' 1000-Piso polymer or "plastic" banknote was awarded "Banknote of the Year" for 2022 by the International Banknote Society (IBNS).

Philippines' 'plastic' banknote wins global award

She added that featuring these endangered animals would raise awareness on the need to protect the environment.

Asked what happened to the image of former President Corazon Aquino, she said: “Dito sa polymer banknotes, hindi po natin siya nai-feature pero we want to ensure na circulating pa rin po ang ating papel na banknotes. In terms of ratio, mas marami pa rin ang paper banknotes.”

Aside from Aquino, other images no longer featured in the new banknotes are former presidents Sergio Osmena and Manuel Roxas.

The August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) said this seems to be the first time in history that heroes are not in the designs of Philippine currency.

ATOM was formed after the shooting of former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on August 21, 1983. It is considered a key event that led to the EDSA People Power Revolution which ousted Aquino's political rival, the late dictator President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1986. Aquino's face is seen at present on the paper P500 bill.

Marcos is the father of sitting Philippine president Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

"For more than two decades, the dictator's family has been hard at work trying to rewrite history and erase from our collective memory the heroes who bravely fought for our freedom," the group said.

"This is even worse than the Bagong Lipunan bills released during Martial Law where our heroes and leaders were retained," it added.

"Seriously, are we really going to forget those who have fallen during the night? Do we really want a country devoid of heroes? Are we better off forgetting them?" the group asked.

"Are they trying to make us forget that the blood of heroes runs in our veins so they can replace it with the blood of slaves and let tyrants rule again?" it lamented.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero also said he wants the BSP to explain why it removed historical figures from the Philippine currency.

"The BSP, by law, is authorized to do that. However, it does carry with it the responsibility to explain and be accountable regarding whatever changes it has or will do. Am awaiting, together with a lot of curious people and with bated breath the reason and annotation of the changes,” he said. 

Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel also voiced his concerns about the changes in the designs of the Philippine peso. 

He said he is worried about how native Philippine fiber abaca will no longer be used in printing money. 

“Plus making BSP’s multi-billion pesos worth of money printing equipment useless. Plus the fact that we are going to be totally dependent on a foreign supplier for our own money. What a crazy idea,” he said.

P200 BANKNOTES

In the interview, the BSP said it has discontinued production of 200-peso banknotes due to low demand. Curtis said the BSP already stopped production of the P200 bills since last year.

The P200 banknotes, however, will remain legal tender.

 The new polymer banknotes will be released in limited quantities starting Monday, December 23.