MANILA, Philippines – On Monday, Presidential aspirant Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno suggested reconsidering its choice to replace portraits of Filipino heroes with the Philippine eagle in the new design of the 1,000-Peso banknote.
“Sana magbago ang isip ng BSP na tanggalin ang ilang mga bayani sa mukha ng pera sa mga darating na panahon,” he said during the flag-raising ceremony at the Manila City Hall.
[Hopefully, the BSP will change its mind to remove some heroes in the face of money in the years to come.]
The new P1,000 bill will include the jeopardised Philippine eagle, supplanting World War II heroes Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Brig. Gen. Vicente Lim and Girl Scouts of the Philippines originator Josefa Llanes Escoda, who were killed during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.
“While it is true that the eagle should be there also, siguro pwede naman halfway ‘yun. Ang heroes sa kabila, ‘yung ating national treasures, mga mahahalagang bagay o unique sa bansa natin, nandoon pa rin katulad ng agila,” he said in an interview.
(While it is true that the eagle should be there too, maybe we can meet halfway. The heroes could be on one side while our national treasures, valuables, or unique to our country, are still there like the eagle.)
On Sunday, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that the photo of the new banknote, which was shared on social media, is not the final design.