Philippine five hundred peso note

Five Hundred pesos

(Philippines)
Value	₱500
Width	160 mm
Height	66 mm
Security features	Security fibers, watermark, see-through mark, concealed value, security thread, optically variable device
Paper type	80% cotton 20% abacá fiber
Years of printing	1903–1953; 1944–1945; 1953–1959; 1987–present
Obverse
Design	Corazon Aquino, Benigno Aquino, Jr., EDSA People Power I,[1] Benigno Aquino Jr. monument
Designer	Design Systemat[2]
Design date	2010
Reverse
Design	Subterranean River National Park, blue-naped parrot (Tanygnathus lucionensis), Southern Philippines cloth design
Designer	Design Systemat[3]
Design date	2010

The Philippine five hundred-peso note (Filipino: Limandaang Piso) (₱500) is a denomination of Philippine currency. Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. and his wife, President Corazon Aquino are currently featured on the front side of the bill, while the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the blue-naped parrot are featured on the reverse side.

Pre-independence history

• 1918: Philippine Islands issued treasury certificate. Features a portrait of Miguel López de Legazpi.
• 1936: Philippine Commonwealth issued treasury certificate. Features a portrait of Miguel López de Legazpi.
• 1944: Philippine Commonwealth issued treasury certificate. Features a portrait of Miguel López de Legazpi. This series were later overprinted with the word "VICTORY" after the liberation of the Philippines under Japanese rule in 1944.
• 1944: Japanese government issued series. Due to hyperinflation caused by the ongoing World War II, the Japanese were forced to issue higher denominations of their fiat peso. The banknotes ceased to be legal tender after the liberation.

• 
  Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic ₱500 bill.

Post-independence history

• 1953: English series. Features the portrait of Manuel Roxas, the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. The reverse features the Old Central Bank main office. Roxas and the Central Bank building were later featured on the one hundred peso bill upon the introduction of the Pilipino series bills.
• 1959: The 200 and 500 peso notes were withdrawn from circulation on December 31, 1959, pursuant to Philippine Republic Act No. 1516.^[4]
• 1987: New Design series, The five hundred peso denomination was not included in the Pilipino and Ang Bagong Lipunan series. The denomination however was reintroduced on August 21, 1987, as part of the New Design series notes.^[5] The bill now features the portrait of Benigno Aquino, Jr., a former senator and an opposition leader when Ferdinand Marcos was president. The bill is now predominantly yellow in color. The obverse also features two popular quotes from Aquino: "Faith in our people and faith in God", and "The Filipino is worth dying for", under which is signed his nickname, "Ninoy". There is also the signature of Aquino, a typewriter with his initials ("B.S.A.J."), and a dove of peace. The reverse features a collage of various images in relation to Aquino, showing him, inter alia, as a journalist for the Manila Times in front of an article about "1st Cav", a senator (the pioneer of the Study Now, Pay Later education program), the mayor of his hometown of Concepcion, the governor of Tarlac, and as the main driving force behind the People Power Revolution of 1986,^[1][6] some three years after his death in 1983. This is the only bill where the name is written in script.
• 1993: After the creation of the "Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas", its new logo was incorporated on all the New Design series bills.
• 1998: The year of printing was added at the bottom of the denomination value located at the upper left corner of the obverse. The names of the signatories on the bills were later added starting with banknotes featuring the signature of President Joseph Estrada.
• 2001: Additional security features were added: the security thread on the right side and the gold fluorescent printing on the left side across the portrait.
• 2010: New Generation series. The portrait of Benigno Aquino, Jr. was redesigned and a portrait of his wife, former president Corazon Aquino, was added, a scene from the EDSA Revolution was added on the lower left of the obverse and the Ninoy Aquino Monument was added in the lower middle. The reverse now features the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the blue-naped parrot.^[7]

• 
  English series ₱500 bill.
• 
  New Design series ₱500 bill.

Proposed designs

Concept designs of the New Design ₱500 bill, with Benigno Aquino, Jr. featured on the left and Ferdinand Marcos on the right.

Originally, this banknote was to feature Ferdinand Marcos with the Batasang Pambansa Complex depicted on the reverse.^[8][9][10] Before the denomination was distributed, Marcos was ousted in the 1986 People Power Revolution.^[1][6] President Corazon Aquino ordered the destruction of all of these banknotes before their release. A concept design of the bill is currently displayed at the BSP Money Museum.

Commemorative issues

The 500 peso bill has sometimes been overprinted to commemorate certain events, including:

• 60 years of Central Banking Commemorative Banknote - On July 9, 2009, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas introduced 12 million banknotes (2 million banknotes for each denomination) with an overprint commemorating 60 years of central banking. The overprint appears on the watermark area on all six circulating denominations.
• 45th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (May 2–5, 2012) Commemorative Banknote - A total of 10 million banknotes with the commemorative overprint were released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to the general public to commemorate the Asian Development Bank's recent meetings.^[11][12]

Notes

1. "People Power: An eyewitness history".
2. http://www.esquiremagazine.ph/the-magazine/how-to-make-money
3. http://www.esquiremagazine.ph/the-magazine/how-to-make-money
4. Philippine Republic Act No. 1516 Chan Robles (www.chanrobles.com) Retrieved on 2012-11-24.
5. P500 Ninoy bills in circulation today, Manila Standard, August 21, 1987
6. "People Power Revolution 1986".
7. Cory, Ninoy together again on new 500-peso bill, Jam Sisante, GMANews.TV, December 16, 2010
8. How I "Made Money" for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, by Romeo Mananquil, published in Celebrate magazine, Fall 2008
9. The 500 peso Marcos banknote
10. P500-bill with Marcos face was never circulated
11. Philippines new 500-peso commemorative note confirmed BanknoteNews.com. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
12. An official press release concerning the issuance of the 500-peso commemorative note Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Retrieved 2012-05-04.