P1,000 banknote redesign today, P500 next?

The decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to replace the three World War II heroes with the Philippine eagle on the P1,000 banknote caused a stir recently. House Deputy Minority Leader Carlos Isagani Zarate called out the BSP for its redesign of the banknote. Incidentally, the initial release of the redesigned banknote also misspelled the scientific name of the Philippine eagle.

The controversy is, however, centered on the removal of the faces of national heroes Josefa Llanes Escoda, Vicente Lim, and Jose Abad Santos. Many netizens likewise decried the redesign which eclipsed the good news from BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno that the new bill which will be rolled out on April 2022 will be made from water- and dirt-resistant polymer.

Diokno said the new design was approved by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines and the BSP’s Monetary Board as well as the Office of the President. The P1,000 denomination has been with us since 1991 with the portraits of Chief Justice Abad Santos, Girl Scout founder Escoda, and Philippine Army General Lim, all considered heroes in the fight against the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

Currently, there is no law that interferes with BSP’s decision on the design changes in our banknotes. This prompted Senator Nancy Binay to propose that the design of banknotes should not be left to the decision of the BSP alone. Congress too must approve the same, Binay suggested.

When I saw the proposed design changes in the P1,000 bill, I immediately thought about the P500 bill which features the faces of democracy icons Ninoy Aquino and Corazon Aquino. It is not farfetched to imagine that it might be next to be replaced in BSP’s thrust to purportedly promote the flora and fauna series. In that eventuality, a bigger controversy could arise considering the current polarizing political configurations in the country.

Even if some people rarely use banknotes nowadays because they prefer to use virtual cash and online payment, the design of banknotes series is still significant for the general public. Banknotes as well as coins have always been considered as symbols and patterns of the national identity. As signals of the political and cultural conventions of the nation, banknotes are naturally subject to change depending on mainstream representations.

Where there is polarization or national identity conflict going on, however, political regimes may take the opportunity to remove some of the national elements that have long been interwoven in people’s daily lives. If that happens, it would come as no surprise amid the widespread disinformation campaign in social media that tries to revise the part of our history about the dark years of martial law.

While promotion of flora and fauna is a valid thrust of the government in the design of banknotes, showing respect for Philippine heroes is still an important feature. A middle ground can be struck like in the current P1,000 bill still circulating; it features the faces of WWII heroes on the front side of the note and the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and the South Sea pearl on the back side of the note.

However, as I said, it is not farfetched to imagine that there could be a furtive attempt at changing power relations by removing certain historical figures in the guise of promoting flora and fauna. That would spark an unfortunate debate during a politically-charged year where bigger problems need urgent attention such as the ballooning debt burden and the economic stagnation from the pandemic.