P1,000 bill named ‘Bank Note of the Year’

POPULAR DESIGN The circulating P1,000 bill chosen as the “Bank Note of the Year 2022.” —INQUIRER PHOTO

Bank note collectors and researchers around the world picked the Philippines’ polymer P1,000 bill as its “Bank Note of the Year 2022” in appreciation of its “eye-pleasing” design as well as its underlying promotion of ecological conservation.

“The Philippines’ successful design in eye-pleasing blue combines an endangered species with an environmental motif,” said the International Bank Note Society (IBNS), a private but popular nonprofit based in the United States, with about 2,000 members across 90 countries.

Ironically, the bill is made of synthetic polymer, as well as paper, but IBNS said polymer bank notes continue to be “popular favorites” among its members and are now perennial award winners. The award is based on votes from IBNS members.

The group noted that the front P1,000 bill features two national symbols—an image of the critically endangered Philippine eagle and a hologram of the sampaguita blossom.

On the reverse side, both polymer and paper P1,000 notes feature the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (a Unesco World Heritage Site), South Sea Pearl and t’nalak indigenous weave design.

“From the onset of voting, the [Philippine entry] was the overwhelming favorite,” IBNS said.

Close runners-up were Northern Ireland’s 50-pound bill which features flora/fauna/workers and Scotland’s 100-pound note featuring Scottish literati Sir Walter Scott and medical pioneer Dr. Flora Murray.

Despite raving about the P1,000 note, IBNS acknowledged the opposition to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ latest design.

“Descendants of the three World War II heroes previously on the face of the note were so opposed to the design change that the central bank will continue to print both varieties of the [P1,000] bank note for the time being,” it said.

This referred to Chief Justice José Abad Santos, army general Vicente Lim and suffragette Josefa Llanes Escoda, all executed by Japanese occupation forces toward the end of World War II.

The P1,000 note was among 100 new, and therefore qualified for the award, bank notes released worldwide in 2022, of which 19 were nominated to compete.

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