MANILA, Philippines—The public may still replace their damaged peso bills in banks as long as they meet minimum requirements for size, the presence of security features and have not been purposely tampered with, according to the central bank.
In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reminded all authorized agent banks to accept mutilated or “doubtful” currencies from the public, pursuant to the regulator’s rules that have been in place since 2014.
According to the BSP, mutilated banknotes shall be valid for redemption if all of these requirements are met: that the remaining surface area is no less than three-fifths or 60 percent of the original size of the banknote; a portion of any one of the signatures of the President of the Philippines or the Governor of the BSP remains; and the presence of the Embedded Security Thread (EST) or Windowed Security Thread (WST), unless they are lost or damaged due to fire, water, chemical, or bitten by termites or rodents and the like.
Banknotes whose security threads were “willfully removed” will not be valid for redemption, the BSP said.
The BSP instructed all authorized agent banks to forward the mutilated or doubtful banknotes and coins to the agency for examination of redemption value or genuineness.
“To avoid disintegration or further deterioration while in transit, banks are advised to place mutilated currency in appropriate containers,” it said.
“The BSP encourages the cooperation of the banks and the public in its commitment to preserve the integrity of Philippine currency,” the agency added.