NBI help sought vs fake news on fake peso bills

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has asked the National Bureau of Investigation to search for individuals or groups that have been maliciously posting photos of defaced Philippine currencies on social media.

In a press statement, the central bank said the move is in connection with recent online and social media posts that contain fictitious Philippine currencies.

“The NBI has also been requested to look into the identities of those who have initiated the circulation of ‘fake news’ to deceive the public or generate entertainment from manipulated images of Philippine banknotes and coins on social media or any website on the internet,” BSP said.

The BSP, under the New Central Bank Act, has the sole power to issue currency within the Philippines. Section 50 of the law states that: “No other person or entity, public or private, may put into circulation notes, coins or any other object or document which, in the opinion of the Monetary Board, might circulate as currency, nor reproduce or imitate the facsimiles of Bangko Sentral notes without prior authority from the Bangko Sentral.”

The central bank is likewise vested with police authority to investigate, make arrests, and conduct searches and seizures in accordance with law, for the purpose of maintaining the integrity of the currency.

The move comes after a Facebook page began circulating last month pictures of what was purportedly the new P10,000 bill supposedly released recently by the BSP, something the authorities quickly denied.

A Facebook page called “Filipino Secret Files” has over 126,000 followers, of whom over 121,000 have acknowledged or approved of the site’s posts by clicking “like” on them.

The BSP reacted to the misleading information after the item was shared on Facebook thousands of times in the hours following its publication.

In a statement, BSP advised the public that its New Generation Currency banknote series currently in circulation is made up of only six denominations, namely the 1000-, 500-, 200-, 100-, 50- and 20-Piso banknotes.

“The BSP has not produced and has not issued a 10,000-Piso NGC banknote,” the central bank said a day after the fake news post went viral.

Information on Philippine banknotes and coins including official press releases and advisories may be accessed through the BSP website www.bsp.gov.ph or through the BSP’s official social media accounts on Facebook BangkoSentralngPilipinas, Instagram BangkoSentral, Twitter @BangkoSentral or YouTube Bangko Sentral.

“The public is encouraged to be judicious when encountering unofficial information on Philippine currencies on social media and the internet, and to contact the BSP for questions on the authenticity of Philippine banknotes and coins,” the central bank said.