BSP to Issue Papal Visit Commemorative Currency

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is committed to start issuing commemorative money with the Papal visit to the Philippines on February this year.

According to the BSP Cebu Acting Director Atty. Leonides B. Sumbi, they are still waiting the allocations from the central office in Manila on the full amount of these money limited to Cebu province.

Sumbi during the Kapihan sa PIA at their BSP conference room last Wednesday morning said that commemorative money will include bills and coins with special designs.

“Usually these Pope Francis commemorative money may be featured in the Philippine currency bills such as P1000, P500, P200, P100, and P50”, Sumbi said.

She also added there might be commemorative coins on this aspect such as on the P1 coin.

“But we try to inquire first our Manila office how to acquire these commemorative money either we have to make an order on this, or we will just wait for them to send us these things”, Sumbi said.

The BSP will only manufacture once this commemorative money, “so there will surely be a limited volume on these currency”, she said.

The BSP shall also have the prerogative to decide whether these commemorative bills and coins will be used as legal tender or not.

There were commemorative money which were utilized as legal tender , so they are good for payments, bank deposits and all other usage.

The same as the commemorative money designed for Saint Pedro Calungsod which were served as legal tender while its limited supplies are still there.

Usually there are issued commemorative P5 coins featuring the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), another P5 coins for Filipino heroes like Andres Bonifacio and Apolinario Mabini, “and they are now in the market as legal tender”, Sumbi explained.

“The only thing which we don’t know yet how much in terms of millions the BSP manufacturing plant will issue about the Papal visit commemorative money”, she said.

However the BSP Cebu chief assured these special designed currency will be released this coming February 2015.