P200 bills to feature Cong Dadong, GMA

Former President Corazon Aquino has not had the honor and privilege, nor former First Lady Imelda Marcos, who loved self-promotion. Now, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo would be the first incumbent president to be memorialized on the legal tender.

She would now also be able to pass from hand to hand on to the next elections.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is planning to print P200 bills with the picture of the late President Diosdado Macapagal in front and his daughter’s, Mrs. Arroyo, on the reverse.

The plan was revealed over the weekend by BSP Governor Rafael Buenaventura, who said the new series of legal tender would feature Mrs. Arroyo on her swearing-in at the EDSA Shrine presided by Chief Justice Hilario Davide.

Arroyo assumed office following the ouster of President Joseph Estrada in the January 2001 people power II. She is currently serving the remainder of Estrada’s term.

The plan drew various reactions. A member of the BSP Press Corps suggested sarcastically the BSP might also start printing the peso in P379.57 denominations.

At present, the peso bill circulates in denominations of P5s, P10s, P20s, P50s, P100s, P500s and P1000s.

On the P5 bill — which is being phased out — is Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, and on the reverse is a scene depicting the declaration of independence from Spain in 1898.

The P10 bill has Apolinario Mabini and Andres Bonifacio, a new version that was released in 1997. Both were leaders of the Philippine revolution against Spain. At the back is a scene depicting new members of the Kataastaasan Kagalang-galangan Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK). It also features the Church of Barasoain in Malolos, Bulacan.

Relatively unchanged over the years is the P20 bill which shows a portrait of Manuel L. Quezon, the first Philippine president under the Commonwealth following independence from the United States. The scene at the back shows the Malacanang Palace, home to 18 Spanish governor-generals, 14 American civil governors and nine Philippine presidents, starting with Quezon.

The P50 and P100 bills, on the other hand, show Sergio Osmena (1878-1961) and Manuel Roxas (1892-1948), respectively. At the back of the P50 bill is an illustration of the former Senate building in Manila and on the P100 bill is an aerial view of the BSP complex along Roxas Boulevard.

Released after the 1986 uprising is the P500 bill with slain Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. The reverse side of the note is a montage of images depicting reconciliation and peace.

The biggest peso denomination is the P1000 bill which depicts three Philippine patriots: Jose Abad Santos (1886-1942), Vicente Lim (1888-1945) and Josefa Llanes Escoda (1898-1945).

Abad Santos became chief justice in 1941. He was captured and tortured during the Japanese occupation for refusing to renounce his allegiance to the US. Lim, the first Filipino graduate of West Point, was a general, hero and martyr while Escoda was the founder of the Philippine Girl Scouts.

The reverse side of the P1000 bill shows three vignettes: the Banaue rice terraces, said to have existed for the last 2,000 years and considered the eighth wonder of the world; the Manunggul, a 3,000-year-old terra cotta jar considered one of the finest pieces of Asian art; and the langgal, sometimes called ranggar by the Maranaos in the South, a Muslim place of worship.