Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will begin circulating next week new banknotes bearing the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a news briefing Wednesday all the banknotes”•P20, P50, P100, P200, P500 and P1,000″•would have the signature of the president.
“The bills will be made available to the public next week,” Tetangco said.
Tetangco did not say how much Bangko Sentral would print for the first batch of the Duterte-signed banknotes.
He said the demonetization of old banknotes, also called New Design Series bills, was on track by Jan. 1, 2017. By then, the said banknotes will no longer be legal tenders.
The number of old banknotes circulating in the financial system as of September this year declined more than 50 percent from the start of 2015 due to the ongoing demonetization by Bangko Sentral.
It said at the start of 2015, 711.7 million pieces of New Design Series notes valued at P184.3 billion were in circulation. Latest Bangko Sentral data showed that 305.4 million pieces of the old banknotes valued at P26.1 billion remained in the system as of end-September 2016.
“By end of December 2016, we would be able to reduce the number of old banknotes [circulating in the financial system],” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said earlier.