Question & AnswerQ&A (BSP CIRCULAR NO. 61)
Legal Tender Philippine Currency refers to notes and coins issued and circulating in accordance with R.A. No. 265 as amended and/or R.A. No. 7653, which must be accepted for payment of public or private debt.
A counterfeit note is defined as an imitation of a legal and genuine note intended to deceive or be taken for the original, legal, and genuine note.
Section 50 of R.A. 7653 grants BSP sole power and authority to issue currency in the Philippines and to regulate the circulation and reproduction of currency, including powers to investigate, make arrests, and conduct searches and seizures to maintain currency integrity.
Violations are punishable by imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than ten (10) years, or a higher penalty if prescribed by the Revised Penal Code.
They must issue a temporary receipt indicating their details and the currency details, have the owner/holder countersign it, and forward the currency and receipt within five (5) working days to the BSP Cash Department or authorized offices.
They must advise the BSP Cash Department within five (5) working days with written notice and a copy of seizure receipt and inventory. Seized currency not needed as evidence must be turned over to BSP for disposition.
No, no person or entity may design, make, issue, or use any facsimile of legal tender Philippine currency notes or coins without prior authorization from the Governor of BSP or their authorized representative.
Facsimiles may be authorized strictly for numismatic, educational, historical, or similar purposes that maintain the note's integrity and dignity, provided the facsimile size is between three-fifths (3/5) and one and one-half (1 1/2) times the size of the actual note.
It mandates banks to classify cash deposits as clean/fit or dirty/unfit notes, provide separate sealed containers for each, and comply with deposit packing and delivery guidelines to facilitate expeditious withdrawal of unfit notes from circulation.
Notes are unfit if heavily creased breaking fibers, badly soiled, or limp. Mutilated notes include torn notes joined by tape, reduced size, scorched, split, or missing signatures. Coins are unfit if bent/twisted or worn; mutilated if filed, clipped, perforated, or defaced beyond recognition.
BSP replaces or redeems such notes and coins except when identification is impossible, coins show filing/clipping/perforation, or notes have lost over 2/5 of surface or all signatures. Those shall be demonetized without compensation.
BSP may call in notes over 5 years old and coins over 10 years old for replacement; these remain legal tender for one year after call and can be exchanged afterward for a certain period before demonetization.
Offenders may face imprisonment of not less than five (5) years and not more than ten (10) years, or a greater penalty if prescribed by the Revised Penal Code.