The August Twenty One Movement (ATOM), which was among the civil society groups that spearheaded protests during the twilight years of the Marcos dictatorship, has taken issue with the removal of the images of Philippine heroes and past presidents in the newly designed peso bills, calling it an attempt to rewrite history.
“Do we really want a country devoid of heroes? Are we better off forgetting them? Are they trying to make us forget that the blood of heroes runs in our veins so they can replace it with the blood of slaves and let tyrants rule again?” the ATOM statement asked as it protested the new polymer banknotes, which mainly feature plants and animals endemic to the Philippines.
The statement followed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reveal of the new versions of the P500, P100, and P50 bills, which now depict mostly Philippine fauna and no longer bear the portraits of historical figures which follow the redesign of our currency, when the BSP adopted the more durable polymer and replaced abaca as the material for the next generation of banknotes.
Most noticeable would be the new P500, which features the Visayan spotted deer on its obverse side, which used to bear the images of the late former President Cory Aquino and her late husband, former Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., two figures in the country’s history who featured prominently in the overthrow and exile of the Marcos family in 1986. The Marcoses have returned to power
“May the legacy and spirit of all our martyrs and leaders about to be removed from our bills continue to be remembered and serve as an inspiration in the hearts of our people,” ATOM added.
At a press conference last week, BSP Assistant Governor Mary Anne Lim explained “our banknotes featuring our Filipino heroes will still be there and they will continue to be used by the public.” She added “it has always been the position of the BSP that featuring both the national heroes and the rich biodiversity of the Philippines through our flora and fauna are equally important and deserve to be recognized.”
While it is possible for the intentions of the BSP to be benign, the timing of the release of the newly designed polymer bank notes could not help but be suspect, especially considering the Marcoses, their role in the country’s history, which they would certainly want to whitewash, at the expense of the country’s other heroes who neither plundered the nation’s coffers nor committed gross human rights violations.
ATOM has a point when it wants our martyrs and leaders to be remembered. Now that they have been erased from the new banknotes, this Marcos administration will need to demonstrate its sincerity to those heroes, martyrs, and the nation’s history by making amends in other ways.*
