Banknotes of the Philippine peso

The revolutionary republic of Emilio Aguinaldo ordered the issuance of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100-peso banknotes which were signed by Messrs. Pedro A. Paterno, Telesforo Chuidan and Mariano Limjap to avoid counterfeiting. However, only the 1 and 5-peso banknotes have been printed and circulated to some areas by the end of the short-lived First Republic.

BEP design proof (top) and issued note (bottom) of the 1924 Philippine one peso. The BEP proof was approved by MG Frank McIntyre, Chief of the Bureau of Insular Affairs.

By 1903, the American colonial Insular Government had issued Silver Certificates in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 pesos, backed by silver coin or U.S. gold at a fixed rate of 2:1. In 1908, the El Banco Español Filipino was allowed to print banknotes in the following denominations with text in Spanish: Cinco (5), Diez (10), Veinte (20), Cincuenta (50), Cien (100) and Dos Cientos (200) Pesos. In 1912, the bank was renamed Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) and henceforth issued the same banknotes in English.

In 1918, the Silver Certificates were replaced by the Treasury Certificates issued with government-backing of bonds issued by the United States Government in the following denominations: One, Two, Five, Ten, Twenty, Fifty, One Hundred and Five Hundred Pesos. In 1916, the Philippine National Bank (PNB) was created to administer the state-holding shares and print banknotes without any quota from the Philippine Assembly. They printed banknotes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 pesos. During World War I, the PNB issued emergency notes printed on cardboard paper in the following denominations: 10, 20, 50 centavos and 1 peso. Also overprinted BPI Notes in Five, Ten and Twenty Pesos due to the lack of currency.

The Commonwealth of the Philippines issued Treasury Certificates with the seal of the new government but still circulated the BPI and PNB banknotes.

The banknotes first issued by today's Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (formerly the "Central Bank of the Philippines") were the VICTORY-CBP Overprints in 1949, which were merely overprints of older American-era banknotes. The first official banknote series to be printed were the English Series in 1951.

"VICTORY-CBP" banknotes
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Year
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	First issue	Withdrawal
		1 peso		Maroon	Apolinario Mabini	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value	1949	July 30, 1967
		2 pesos		Blue	José Rizal	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value
		5 pesos		Yellow	William McKinley and George Dewey	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value
		10 pesos		Brown	George Washington	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value
		20 pesos		Orange	Mayon volcano	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value	1949	July 30, 1967
		50 pesos		Pink	Henry Ware Lawton	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value	1949	July 30, 1967
		100 pesos		Gold	Ferdinand Magellan	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value	1949	July 30, 1967
		500 pesos		Violet	Miguel López de Legazpi	"VICTORY", "CENTRAL BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES", value	1949	December 31, 1957
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The English Series were Philippine banknotes that circulated from 1949 to 1969. It was the only banknote series of the Philippine peso to use English.

English Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Year
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	First issue	Withdrawal
Small denomination notes
		5 centavos		Red	Bank title, bank seal, value, serial number	"PHILIPPINES", value	April 15, 1951	June 30, 1958
		10 centavos		Maroon	Bank title, bank seal, value, serial number	"PHILIPPINES", value
		20 centavos		Green	Bank title, bank seal, value, serial number	"PHILIPPINES", value
		50 centavos		Blue	Bank title, bank seal, value, serial number	"PHILIPPINES", value
		​1⁄2 peso		Green	Mt. Mayon and three men riding on a carabao-drawn cart	"PHILIPPINES", value	July 1, 1958	February 28, 1969
Large denomination notes
		₱1	160 × 66 mm	Gray	Apolinario Mabini	Barasoain Church	April 15, 1951	March 31, 1971
		₱2		Blue	José Rizal	Landing of Ferdinand Magellan
		₱5		Golden yellow	Marcelo H. del Pilar and Graciano Lopez Jaena	La Solidaridad
		₱10		Brown	Fathers Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos and Jacinto Zamora	Urdaneta and Legaspi Monument
		₱20		Orange	Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto	Kartilya ng Katipunan and the Balintawak Monument
		₱50		Red	Antonio Luna	Blood compact between Sikatuna and Legaspi
		₱100		Yellow	Tandang Sora	Regimental flags and the Katipunan veterans
		₱200		Green	Manuel L. Quezon	Legislative Building		December 31, 1959
		₱500		Violet	Manuel Roxas	Former Central Bank Building
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The Pilipino Series banknotes is the name used to refer to Philippine banknotes issued by the Central Bank of the Philippines from 1969 to 1977, during the term of President Ferdinand Marcos. It was succeeded by the Ang Bagong Lipunan Series of banknotes, to which it shared a similar design. The lowest denomination of the series is 1-piso and the highest is 100-piso.

This series represented a radical change from the English series. The bills underwent Filipinization and a design change.

Pilipino Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Year
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	First issue	Withdrawal
		₱1	160 × 66 mm	Blue	José Rizal	Declaration of Philippine Independence	May 5, 1969	March 1, 1974
		₱5		Green	Andres Bonifacio	Sanduguan or Blood Compact of the Katipuneros
		₱10		Brown	Apolinario Mabini	Barasoain Church
		₱20		Orange	Manuel L. Quezon	Malacañan Palace
		₱50		Red	Sergio Osmeña	Legislative Building
		₱100		Violet	Manuel Roxas	Former Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Building
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

The Ang Bagong Lipunan Series (literally, ”The New Society Series") is the name used to refer to Philippine banknotes issued by the Central Bank of the Philippines from 1978 to 1985. It was succeeded by the New Design Series of banknotes. The lowest denomination of the series is 2-piso and the highest is 100-piso.

After the declaration of Proclamation № 1081 by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 23, 1972, the Central Bank was to demonetize the English Series banknotes in 1974, pursuant to Presidential Decree 378. All the unissued Pilipino Series banknotes (except the one peso banknote) were sent back to the De La Rue plant in London for overprinting the watermark area with the words "ANG BAGONG LIPUNAN" and oval geometric safety design. The one peso bill was replaced with the two peso bill, which features the same elements of the demonetized Pilipino series one peso bill.

On September 7, 1978, the Security Printing Plant in Quezon City was inaugurated to produce the banknotes.

The banknotes were still legal tender even after the introduction of the New Design Series banknotes, however it is seldom used after the EDSA Revolution.[1] The banknotes were eventually demonetized on February 2, 1996 (but can still be exchange with legal tender currency to the Central Bank until February 1, 1996)[2] after clamors that the banknotes can be used to buy votes for the 1992 Presidential Elections.[3]

Ang Bagong Lipunan (New Society) Series
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Year
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	First issue	Withdrawal
		₱2	160 × 66 mm	Blue	José Rizal	Declaration of Philippine Independence	March 17, 1978	February 2, 1996
		₱5		Green	Andres Bonifacio	Blood Compact of the Katipuneros
		₱10		Brown	Apolinario Mabini	Barasoain Church
		₱20		Orange	Manuel L. Quezon	Malacañan Palace
		₱50		Red	Sergio Osmeña	Legislative Building
		₱100		Violet	Manuel Roxas	BSP Complex
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

By 1983, the Committee was deciding on the issuance of new banknotes to replace the Ang Bagong Lipunan Series by issuing seven new banknotes consisting in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1000-pesos.

On June 12, 1985, the Central Bank issued the New Design Series starting with a new 5-peso banknote with the face of Emilio Aguinaldo. The following months, a new 10-peso banknote with the face of Apolinario Mabini. In March 3, 1986, a new 20-peso banknote appeared. After the 1986 People Power Revolution[1][4] and the new 1987 Constitution was promulgated, the Central Bank issued a new 50, 100- and for the second time a new 500-peso banknote with the face of Benigno Aquino, Jr.. In 1991, the Central Bank issued for the first time a new 1000-peso banknote, containing the portraits of José Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda and Vicente Lim.

After the passage of the New Central Bank Act of 1993, the New Design Series, which was initiated in 1985, was slightly changed because of the new seal of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. In 1998, the 100,000-peso Centennial banknote, measuring 8.5"x14", accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest legal tender note. It was issued in very limited quantity during the celebration of the Centennial of Philippine Independence. In 2001, the Bangko Sentral issued upgraded 1000, 500, and 100-peso banknotes with new hi-tech security features to combat counterfeiting. During the Estrada Administration, the practice in use since the Commonwealth, of reproducing the signature of the President of the Philippines over the legend "President of the Philippines" was abandoned in favor of explicitly stating the president's name. In 2002, the Bangko Sentral issued a new 200-peso banknote with the security features found on the upgraded 1000, 500, and 100-peso banknotes and has the face of former President Diosdado Macapagal. His daughter, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is at the back of the 200-peso banknote which showed her being sworn into office at the EDSA Shrine. She is the first president whose image has been included in a banknote while in office since emergency currency was issued by various provincial currency boards during World War II.

The series was renamed the BSP Series in 1993 when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was reestablished as the central monetary authority.

The New Design Series had less security features. (only the visible fibers, value panel, security thread and watermark.)

On July 8, 2009, the BSP announced that it would recall all bank notes made of abaca cotton soon and replace it with an all-polymer series. However, this is still in the planning stage, with no specific date set for printing and replacements.[5]

The BSP Series added more security features such as another glossy security thread, iridescent strip, fluorescent printing, optically variable ink, and microprints.[6]

These banknotes were legal tender alongside the New Generation Currency series until the end of 2015, when the New Generation Currency series became a single circulating set.[7] The New Design/BSP series ceased to be legal tender on June 30, 2017 and were phased out on December 29, 2017.

New Design/BSP Series

Image		Value	Dimensions (millimetres)	Main Color		Design		Year
Obverse	Reverse					Obverse	Reverse	First Issue	Withdrawal
		₱5	160 × 66		Green	Emilio Aguinaldo, Aguinaldo Shrine historical marker	Declaration of Philippine Independence, 1898	June 13, 1985	December 29, 2017[7][8]
		₱10	160 × 66		Brown	Apolinario Mabini, 1899 Malolos Constitution	Barasoain Church	June 13, 1985
		₱10	160 × 66		Brown	Apolinario Mabini, Andres Bonifacio, 1899 Malolos Constitution, Kartilla ng Katipunan	Barasoain Church, Blood Compact of the Katipuneros	May 2, 1997
		₱20	160 × 66		Orange	Manuel L. Quezon, 1935 Philippine Commonwealth	Malacañan Palace	March 3, 1986
		₱50	160 × 66		Red	Sergio Osmeña	Legislative Building/National Museum	April 18, 1987
		₱100	160 × 66		Violet	Manuel A. Roxas, Inauguration of the Third Philippine Republic	Old and current headquarters of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in Manila	April 18, 1987
		₱200	160 × 66		Green	Diosdado P. Macapagal, Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite	EDSA People Power 2001 and the inauguration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo	June 10, 2002
		₱500	160 × 66		Yellow	Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., BSAJ typewriter, Philippine flag	Aquino as a journalist for the Manila Times holding a Rolleiflex camera (in front of an article about "1st Cav" and the Partition of Korea), Study Now, Pay Later education program, Concepcion, Tarlac town hall, Tarlac Provincial Capitol, 1986 People Power Revolution.[1][4]	August 21, 1987
		₱1000	160 × 66		Blue	José Abad Santos, Vicente Lim, Josefa Llanes Escoda; eternal flame	Banaue Rice Terraces, Manunggul Jar cover and Langgal.	December 16, 1991
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

In 2009, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced that it will launch a massive redesign for its banknotes and coins to further enhance security features and to improve durability.[9] The members of the numismatic committee included Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo and Dr. Ambeth Ocampo, chairman of the National Historical Institute. Designed by Studio 5 Designs and Design Systemat, the new banknotes' designs features famous Filipinos and iconic natural wonders. Philippine national symbols will be depicted on coins. The BSP started releasing the initial batch of new banknotes in December 2010. The word used in the bills was "Pilipino" rendered in Baybayin (ᜉᜒᜎᜒᜉᜒᜈᜓ). On December 16, 2010, the new design for Philippine banknotes were released. The font used for lettering in the banknotes is Myriad, while the numerals are set in the Twentieth Century font.[10] On December 16, 2016, BSP announced that they will launch sets of banknotes bearing President Duterte's signature. The BSP initially released five million pieces of the new 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000-peso bills with Duterte's signature. As for the 200-pesos bills, only two million pieces were released because of lower demand for this denomination.[11]

The New Generation Currency series will be the only circulating set of notes by December 30, 2017.[7]

In 2017, the BSP updated the design of the NGC series banknotes with the following changes:[12]

• Replacing the signature of BSP governor Amando Tetangco Jr. to its newly appointed governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. (all banknotes)
• Enlarged the font size of the year of issue (all banknotes)
• Italicization of the scientific names on the reverse (all banknotes)
• Replaced the images of the Aguinaldo Shrine and the Barasoain Church on the obverse side of the ₱200 banknote with scenes of the Declaration of Philippine Independence and the opening of the Malolos Congress respectively.
• The text "October 1944" was added after the word "Leyte Landing" at the obverse of the ₱50 banknote
• The Order of Lakandula Medal and the phrase “Medal of Honor” were removed on the obverse side of the ₱1000 banknote
• In 2020, the BSP will release an improved version of the NGC series. In addition to the security features currently present for all six denominations, the new banknotes will have an upgraded Motion windowed security thread (for the 1000 peso note), upgraded design for all six denominations, anti-counterfeit features and anti-scanning devices. The notes will also have features for the benefit of the visually impaired.[13]

New Generation Currency series

Image		Value	Dimensions (millimetres)	Main Color		Design		Year of First Issue	Usage in circulation
Obverse	Reverse					Obverse	Reverse
		₱20	160 × 66		Orange	Manuel L. Quezon, Declaration of Filipino as the national language, Malacañang Palace	Banaue Rice Terraces; Paradoxurus hermaphroditus philippinensis (palm civet); Cordilleras weave design	December 17, 2010	Wide
		₱50	160 × 66		Red	Sergio Osmeña, First Philippine Assembly, Leyte Landing October 1944	Taal Lake in Batangas; Caranx ignobilis, maliputo (giant trevally); Batangas embroidery design	December 17, 2010	Wide
		₱100	160 × 66		Violet	Manuel A. Roxas, Old Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) building in Intramuros, Manila, Inauguration of the Third Philippine Republic	Mayon Volcano in Albay; butanding, Rhincodon typus, whale shark; Bicol textile design	December 17, 2010	Wide
		₱100	160 × 66		Violet	Manuel A. Roxas, Old Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) building in Intramuros, Manila, Inauguration of the Third Philippine Republic, stronger mauve color than previous banknote	Mayon Volcano in Albay; butanding, Rhincodon typus, whale shark; Bicol textile design	April 11, 2015	Wide
		₱200	160 × 66		Green	Diosdado P. Macapagal, EDSA People Power 2001, Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, Barasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan	Chocolate Hills in Bohol; Tarsius syrichta, Philippine tarsier; Visayas weave design	December 17, 2010	Limited
		₱200	160 × 66		Green	Diosdado P. Macapagal, EDSA People Power 2001, Declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit, Cavite, Opening of the Malolos Congress in Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan	Chocolate Hills in Bohol; Tarsius syrichta, Philippine tarsier; Visayas weave design	December 5, 2017	Limited
		₱500	160 × 66		Yellow	Corazon C. Aquino, Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., EDSA People Power I, Benigno Aquino monument in Makati City	Subterranean Underground River in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; Tanygnathus lucionensis, blue-naped parrot; Southern Philippines cloth design	December 17, 2010	Wide
		₱1000	160 × 66		Light Blue	José Abad Santos, Vicente Lim, Josefa Llanes Escoda; Centennial celebration of Philippine independence; Philippine Medal of Honor	Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Sulu Sea; Pinctada maxima, South Sea pearl; Mindanao design for Tinalak (Ikat-dyed abaca)	December 17, 2010	Wide
		₱1000	160 × 66		Light Blue	José Abad Santos, Vicente Lim, Josefa Llanes Escoda; Centennial celebration of Philippine independence	Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Sulu Sea; Pinctada maxima, South Sea pearl; Mindanao design for Tinalak (Ikat-dyed abaca)	December 5, 2017	Wide
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

• Raised ink on all upper-left numbers (20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000) - All banknotes
• Rough Texture - All banknotes
• Concealed value - All banknotes
• Watermark - All banknotes
• See-through registration device - All banknotes
• 5mm-wide 3D security thread - 1000 peso notes (2019 onwards with Diokno's signature)
• 4mm-wide Metallic security thread - 100, 200, and 500 notes, as well as 1000 peso notes (until 2019 with either Tetangco Jr. or Espenilla Jr.'s signature)
• 2mm-wide Embedded Security thread - 20 and 50 peso notes
• Optically variable device patch - 500 and 1000 peso notes
• Optically variable ink - 1000 peso notes
• Ultraviolet light - All banknotes

Several errors have been discovered on banknotes of the New Generation series and have become the subject of ridicule on social networking sites. Among these are the exclusion of Batanes from the Philippine map on the reverse of all denominations, the mislocation of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean Underground River on the reverse of the 500-peso bill and the Tubbataha Reef on the 1000-peso bill, and the incorrect coloring on the beak and feathers of the blue-naped parrot on the 500-peso bill.[14][15] The scientific names of the animals featured on the reverse sides of all banknotes were incorrectly rendered as well.[16]

According to Design Systemat, the designers of the new bills, that drafts prepared by the company of the new 500-peso bill shows a red beak of the blue-naped parrot. This color was changed by the printers to account for practical printing concerns. The designers further explains that printing banknotes is not like printing brochures. Due to the intaglio printing and limited printing capability of banknote printers, it can only produce a limited full color reproduction.

The alleged mislocation of the Tubbataha Reef on the one thousand peso note was due to a security feature, a smaller version of the featured species on the bills' reverse (which is also featured on all banknote denominations) was located on top of the exact location of the Tubbataha Reef on the map. Giving the option of either moving the key security feature on the standard position or locating the Tubbataha marker correctly, the bills' French printers, Oberthur Technologies, decided to move the reef marker slightly south on the Philippine map.[17]