MANILA, Philippines — A group known for its involvement in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution criticized the new-look polymer Philippine peso banknotes.
In a statement on Friday, the August Twenty One Movement (ATOM) said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rejected the quote of national hero Jose Rizal, “I die without seeing the dawn brighten over my native land. You who have it to see, welcome it — and forget not those who have fallen during the night!”
“Seriously, are we really going to forget those who have fallen during the night? 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,” ATOM said on Friday.
Manila Times columnist and public historian Michael Charleston Chua said that no defacement of the country’s heroes “will take away the lessons they left behind and the spirit of nation-building that they exemplified.”
The new polymer banknotes released by the BSP on Thursday featured the country’s wildlife on the P50, P100, and P500 bills, as the P1,000 bill was already released in 2022. However, the BSP previously stated that the previous paper banknotes with the faces of the country’s national heroes, remain in circulation and are still legal tender.
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