Courtesy of GMA News Online and Yahoo! Philippines
In light of the issuance of the new peso bank notes, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has called on the public to be aware of the security features added to the bills in order to easily detect counterfeits.
Speaking at the sidelines of the launch of an anti-counterfeit campaign spearheaded by the BSP in partnership with IT firm Hewlett-Packard (HP), officials said that while the new bills are expensive and difficult to reproduce, the public can still be fooled if they do not know the security features of the new bank notes.
"The BSP has invested a lot of money and effort so our money can be secure from counterfeiters," said Fe dela Cruz, the BSP's director for corporate affairs.
"But if [the people] don't know how to identify counterfeits, then our investments are useless," she added.
New Security Features
According to Maja Gratia Malic, manager of the currency analysis and redemption division of the BSP, previous security features are still present in the new notes but the difference can be seen—or felt, for that matter—once one touches the bills."Pag sinalat mo [ang bagong bills], naka-emboss iyung pangalan, for example, 'Dalawampung Piso' at yung 'Republika ng Pilipinas'," Malic said.Dela Cruz said this was achieved through a process called "intalio printing," which uses more ink and takes three to four days to dry, making it difficult to be copied just by anyone.
Aside from this, Malic said the security thread usually seen in the older version of the bank notes are still present, but were made larger so as to appear more visble."Sa halip na 1.4 millimeters lang, ginawa nating 4 millimeters, lalo na yung P100 to P1000 pesos," Malic said. "Madali itong makita, and it changes color from green to red and vice-versa."
The usual watermark which can be seen when the bill is brought up against the light is still present, but dela Cruz said they have added the watermark of the denomination as well."[These] were incorporated in the printing process, and is considered an indelible mark of the bank note," she added.
In addition, inscription has been placed on the bill, the lower part of which is visible as white markings in front while the upper part is represented as dark markings at the back of the bill, both of which should appear as one coherent working when brought up against a light.
The inscription, Malic said, is written in "baybayin," a pre-hispanic script used by early Filipinos. "The script means 'Filipino' when translated," she added.
Reporting Counterfeits
When a person receives a suspicious bank note that appears to be counterfeited, dela Cruz said it should be taken to the bank immediately. "The bank will then give the person an acknowledgment receipt, and the bank will forward the suspicious bill to the BSP," she said.After determining if the note is counterfeit or not, dela Cruz said the central bank will inform the bank immediately so the note can be returned if proven original.Dela Cruz maintained, however, that the BSP will not replace bills found to be counterfeited.
"In principle, the bill has no value, so we do not have to replace it," she stressed, adding that this is the primary reason why consumers should be vigilant about detecting counterfeit money.
"It's like [a warning]. People should be more conscious [about the security features] before accepting the money," she added.
