By Melissa Luz T. Lopez
Senior Reporter

A MACHINE ERROR led to the release of “misprinted” P100 bills that ended up in an automated teller machine (ATM) of a bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced yesterday.

BSP Managing Director Carlyn A. Pangilinan said a mechanical error in one of the central bank’s note-printing machines led to the circulation of 33 pieces of faceless bills, which missed several features of the banknote including the portrait of former President Manuel A. Roxas.

The defective notes accounted for 0.00009% of total P100 bills in circulation.

The BSP was made aware of the case after Facebook user Earla Anne Yehey posted photos of these defective bills online, which she said she got from a Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) ATM.

Ms. Pangilinan described this as an “isolated case,” adding that the machine error has already been resolved. Initial indications point to a possible glitch in a printer’s roller mechanism that led to portions of banknote sheets lacking some aspects of the design.

“There is no security breach here… We have to do some improvement in our processes and we have to talk to the supplier of the machines to prevent a repeat of this situation,” Ms. Pangilinan said during a press briefing.

The Philippine central bank is upgrading its note printing and coin minting systems, with a new set of printers acquired just last month, Ms. Pangilinan added.

Last week, another bank also got hold of misprinted P50 bills, but these were withheld by the lender.

Ms. Pangilinan said the central bank was reviewing its printing and quality control measures, even as it recently shifted to using machine checkpoints from its past practice of employing manual checkers.

Ms. Pangilinan said the defective bills ended up in the hands of the public as BPI decided to directly load the cash it got from the central bank to their ATMs. The central bank has recovered 19 of the “faceless” bills through BPI.

While the defective bills are technically legal tender, the central bank advised consumers against using them for day-to-day transactions as these do not carry all the security features against counterfeiting.

Those who end up with these bills can bring them to the BSP and have these replaced at par value.

This is not the first time that the central bank printed defective notes.

A number of peso notes printed and circulated in 2005 were named “Arrovo” bills since they misspelled the surname of then-president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. These were eventually replaced with notes bearing the correct spelling. But some consumers kept them as collectible items and auctioned them off on sites like EBay.

DEMONETIZED
In the same briefing yesterday, the BSP also reminded the public of today’s deadline to replace bills from the 1985 design series, saying that there will be no extension.

The BSP previously set a Dec. 31, 2016 deadline for the public to get banknotes of the old design before banks and central bank offices, but granted extensions thrice that led to a final call last Sept. 30.

The old bills could not be used for day-to-day transactions from Jan. 1, 2016, as these have lost their value since then.

The BSP has the sole authority to issue money for general use. Central banks regularly change the design of bills and coins to update security standards against counterfeiting. Republic Act No. 7653, or the New Central Bank Act, provides that the BSP can replace banknotes which have been in use for over five years.

The central bank also sought to address issues raised against the silver five-peso coins which it released starting this month amid criticism that the new design was similar to that of the one-peso coin.

The new coin carries the face of Andres Bonifacio on one side and a stylized rendition of the Tayabak plant and the BSP logo on the other, replacing former President and General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Ms. Pangilinan said the P5 coin is heavier, thicker and slightly bigger than the P1 coin. Another way to distinguish between the two coins is that the P5 coin has a smooth edge, while the P1 coin has ridges. “The BSP is confident that in time and with increased usage, the features of the P5 New Generation Currency coin and other denominations… would gain greater familiarity,” she said.

The coins with the new designs will be released for public use next month.

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