TO AVOID further public confusion, Senator Nancy Binay has asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to temporarily stop producing new P5 coins.
The BSP plans to release this month new generation coins which it rolled out in December.
She said the new P5 coins have already created much confusion as these look very much like the old-generation P1 coins.
“It is best to keep an eye on those new P5 coins especially when giving change. The new P5 coin creates confusion as it is as big and is similar to a P1 coin,” she said.
According to Binay, consumers have expressed confusion at being handed the recently released silver coins.
The newly-minted P5 coins features the face of Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio, replacing Emilio Aguinaldo who is featured in the old pale gold P5 coin which is still in circulation.
The new generation coins (NGCs) are smaller than their counterparts in the old BSP series.
“We welcome the new and fresh designs of the NGC. But did the Numismatic Committee ever consider the behavioral change it will create, and the possibility of confusion between merchants and the public?” Binay said.
She said majority of the commuting public and those working in the transportation sector are the ones to be most inconvenienced by the circulation of the NGC series.