MONEY, MONEY, MONEY Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo  explains which set of bills would remain valid and which ones would be relegated to ‘Mickey Mouse’ status by 2017. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ
MONEY, MONEY, MONEY Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Gunigundo explains which set of bills would remain valid and which ones would be relegated to ‘Mickey Mouse’ status by 2017. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ

BANK notes issued in 1985 may still be used for daily transactions up to the end of 2015 but they will be fully demonetized starting 2017, the central bank said.

In a press briefing on Thursday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the public may continue to use the 1985 New Design Series (NDS) up to December 31, 2015 but thereafter, these old banknotes will no longer be accepted for payment transactions.

From January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2016, the BSP said the public may exchange with authorized financial institutions such as universal and commercial banks, thrift banks, and rural as well as cooperative banks, their old banknotes with the New Generation Currency (NGC) Series at full face value, without charge.

The public may also opt to exchange their old banknotes with the BSP or any of its regional offices or branches around the Philippines.

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Government institutions holding old banknotes which could not be exchanged during the prescribed period, such as banknotes used as evidence in a litigation case, will have to request the BSP Cash Department in writing, within the period of exchange, for a special exchange arrangement, it added.

For overseas Filipinos (OFs) who have in their possession old banknotes which could not be exchanged within the prescribed period, they may register online starting October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 through the BSP website.

These old banknotes may be exchanged with the BSP within one year from the date of registration.

The central bank said that starting January 1, 2017, NDS banknotes that have not been exchanged shall no longer have any monetary value and will be considered demonetized.

“This will result in the circulation of a single currency series in the country--the New Generation Banknotes introduced in December 2010, which have more and enhanced security features to protect the safety of the public against counterfeiters,” said BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo.

As of April 2015, Guinigundo noted that there are about 2.8 billion pieces of banknotes consisting of the NGC and NDS series circulating in the system.

“About 20 percent of the total number of banknotes circulating in the Philippines consists of NDS. So this is an easier task for the BSP in partnership with the general public to retire the NDS,” he said.

The central bank said the demonetization process of the old banknotes is in line with the provisions of Section 57 of Republic Act No. 7653, or the New Central Bank Act, which authorizes the BSP to replace banknotes that are more than five years old. The old banknotes have been in circulation for almost three decades.