FALSE: Bangko Sentral ‘launches new design of Philippine peso’

Claim: A purported Facebook page of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) posted a photo of the supposed new design of the Philippine peso bill on Wednesday, January 22. 

The photo showed P50, P100, P200, P500, and P1,000 banknotes. It also added a supposed new P5,000 bill. 

The caption of the post read, “The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has released the New Generation currency II new designs of Philippine banknotes including the Philippine Piso PHP (ISO 4218).” 

The information was credited to a certain “Kurt kart kirt.” 

The post was flagged by Facebook Claim Check, a tool that identifies potential false claims spreading on social media. The post has garnered 1,611 shares, 596 reactions, and 391 comments, as of writing. 

Rating: FALSE

The facts: The BSP has no official announcement about the release of the new design of Philippine peso bills.  

The official Facebook page of the BSP posted an advisory on January 23 saying that “the images and information on Philippine currency posted in the account are false as they are clearly inconsistent with the features of genuine Philippine banknotes.” 

The existing banknote series, called the New Generation Currency, was launched in 2010. The latest design of the Philippine peso bill that was released by the central bank in July 2019 with the name and signature of BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno. In December 2017, the BSP brought “enhanced designs” of the banknotes into circulation. 

The fake Facebook page of the BSP was only created on January 20, 2020. The official page of the central bank, which has a blue verification tag, warned the public to only follow their official social media accounts for any advisories and announcements. 

This is the second time that Rappler fact-checked a false claim about the Philippine currency. In November 2019, we also debunked a claim about the release of the new designs of Philippine coins. – Glenda Marie Castro/Rappler.com

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.