BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS
CIRCULAR NO. 829
Series of 2014
Subject:
Amendments to Consolidated Rules and Regulations on
Currency Notes and Coins (BSP Circular No.
61, Series of 1995)
Pursuant to Monetary Board
Resolution Nos. 1097 dated 4 July 2013 and 48 dated 9 January 2014,
the Consolidated Rules and Regulations on Currency
Notes and Coins is hereby amended, to read as
follows:
DEFINITION OF TERMS
For
purposes of this Circular, the following terms are defined:
A.
LEGAL TENDER PHILIPPINE
CURRENCY - Notes and coins issued and
circulating in accordance with
R.A. No. 265
as amended and/or
R.A. No. 7653,
which when offered for the payment of public
or private debt must be accepted.
B.
COUNTERFEIT NOTE
- An imitation of a legal and genuine note intended to
deceive or to be taken for that which is original, legal and
genuine.
C.
COUNTERFEIT COIN
- An imitation or forged design of a genuine and legal
coin regardless of its intrinsic value or metallic composition, intended to
deceive or pass for the genuine coin.
D.
UNAUTHORIZED
REPRODUCTION OF LEGAL TENDER
PHILIPPINE NOTE
- A reproduction of a facsimile or
any illustration or object bearing the
likeness or similitude of legal tender Philippine currency note or
any part thereof, without prior authority from the Governor of Bangko
Sentral or his duly authorized representative.
E.
UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION OF
LEGAL TENDER PHILIPPINE COIN - A
reproduction of a facsimile or any object in metal form
bearing the likeness or similitude of
legal tender Philippine currency coin or any part thereof, without prior
authority from the Governor of Bangko Sentral or his duly authorized
representative.
1
CHAPTER 1
TREATMENT AND
DISPOSITION OF COUNTERFEIT PHILIPPINE AND FOREIGN
CURRENCY NOTES AND COINS
"The
Bangko Sentral shall have the sole power and authority to issue currency,
within the territory of the Philippines. No other person or entity, public
or private, may put into circulation notes, coins or any object or document
which, in the opinion of the Monetary Board, might circulate as currency,
nor reproduce or imitate the facsimiles of Bangko Sentral notes without
prior authority from the Bangko Sentral.
"The
Monetary Board may issue such regulations as it may deem advisable in order
to prevent the circulation of foreign currency or of currency substitutes as
well as to prevent the reproduction of facsimiles of Bangko Sentral notes.
"The
Bangko Sentral shall have the authority to investigate, make arrests, and
conduct searches and seizures in accordance with law, for the purpose of
maintaining the integrity of the currency.
"Violation of this provision or of any regulation issued by the Bangko
Sentral pursuant thereto shall constitute an offense punishable by
imprisonment of not less than five (5) years but not more than ten (10)
years. In case the Revised Penal Code provides for a greater penalty, then
that penalty shall be imposed."
Section 2. Any person or entity, public or
private, who receives or takes hold of a
note or coin which is counterfeit or whose genuineness is
questionable, whether Philippine or foreign currency, shall issue a
temporary receipt to its owner/holder
and must indicate therein his name, address and community
tax certificate number or a reference number sourced from
any Philippine government-issued ID or passport number,
or in case of a foreigner, the date of receipt, the denomination, serial
number of the note or the coin series as the case may be. The owner/holder
shall be required to countersign the receipt and in case of refusal, the
reason shall be stated in the receipt.
Section 3. Any person or entity, public or
private, who receives, takes hold or has in his possession a note or a coin
which is counterfeit or whose genuineness is questionable, whether
Philippine or foreign currency, shall forward the same within five (5)
working days from date of receipt/ possession thereof, together with a copy
of the temporary receipt required under Section 2 hereof, for examination
to:
Security Plant Complex Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas East Avenue, Diliman
1101Quezon City
In
cases where personal delivery to the Currency Issue and Integrity Office
(CIIO), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Quezon City, is not feasible,
delivery of the aforestated notes or coins may be made through any of the
following agencies:
(a)
The BSP Regional
Offices/Branches; or
(b)
Any banking institution under the
supervision of the BSP.
Section 4. Any
law enforcement agency which
conducted any seizure of
notes and coins, whether Philippine or foreign, which
are counterfeits or suspected to be counterfeit currency,
shall within five (S)
working days from date
of seizure, advise in writing
the CIIO, BSP, Quezon
City of said seizure enclosing
therewith a copy of
the receipt and inventory
taken on the seized
items. All seized notes
or coins which are not
or no longer needed as
evidence in any
investigation/legal proceedings shall
be immediately turned over to the CIIO, BSP, for proper
disposition.
Section 5. The CIIO, BSP, after examining all
notes and coins, whether Philippine or foreign, submitted to it for
examination and/or determination as to its genuineness, shall:
(a)
Issue a corresponding
certification for the currency examined, if needed;
(b)
Stamp the
word "COUNTERFEIT" on both
the front and the back
of each note found to be counterfeit; and
(c)
Return to the owner/holder and/or
sender the Philippine or foreign currency notes or coins found to be genuine
in accordance with existing accounting and auditing
regulations.
Section 6. All notes and coins, whether
Philippine or foreign, determined by the CIIO, BSP, to be counterfeit
currency, shall not be returned to the owner/holder, but shall be retained
and later disposed of in accordance with such guidelines as may be adopted
by the BSP, except those which will be used as evidence in an investigation
or legal proceedings, in which case, the same shall be retained and
preserved by the BSP for evidentiary purposes.
Section 7. The BSP shall extend assistance as
may be requested of it in the investigation, apprehension and/or prosecution
of person/s responsible for counterfeiting of notes and coins, both
Philippine and foreign.
I,,
REPRODUCTION
AND/OR USE OF FACSIMILES OF LEGAL TENDER
PHILIPPINE CURRENCY NOTES
Section 8. No
person or entity, public
or private, shall design,
engrave, print, make or execute in any
other manner, or utter, issue, distribute, circulate or use any handbill,
advertisement, placard, circular, card, or any other object whatsoever
bearing the facsimile, likeness or similitude of any legal tender Philippine
currency note, or any part
thereof, whether in black
and white or any
color or combination of colors, without prior
authority therefor having been secured from the Governor, BSP, or his duly
authorized representative.
Section 9. The
reproduction and/or use of
facsimiles or any illustration
bearing the likeness or similitude of legal tender
Philippine currency notes referred to in the foregoing section may be
authorized by the Governor, BSP, or his duly authorized representative, for
printed illustrations in articles, books, journals, newspapers or other
similar materials and strictly for numismatic, educational, historical,
newsworthy or other purposes which will maintain, promote or enhance the
integrity and dignity of said note, provided, however, that any such
facsimile or illustration shall be of a size less than three-fifths (3/5) or
more than one and one half (1 ½)
times in size of the
currency note being
illustrated and that there
will be no deviation from
the purpose for which
the notes will be
used.
CHAPTER III
Section 10. No person or entity, public or
private, shall design, engrave, make or execute in any other manner, or use,
issue, or distribute any object whatsoever bearing the
likeness or similitude as
to design, color or
the inscription thereon of
any legal tender Philippine
currency coin or any
part thereof, in metal
form, irrespective of size and
metallic composition, without
prior authority from the
Governor, BSP, or his duly authorized
representative.
Section 11. The reproduction and/or use of
facsimiles or of any object bearing the likeness or similitude of legal
tender Philippine currency coins referred to in the foregoing section may be
authorized by the Governor, BSP, or his duly authorized representative,
strictly for numismatic, educational, historical and other purposes which
will maintain, promote or enhance the integrity and dignity of said coins.
CLEAN NOTE AND COIN POLICY
Section 12. To effect an expeditious
withdrawal from circulation of unfit Philippine currency notes classified
under Section 15, Chapter V of this Circular, banks and their branches shall
observe the following guidelines and procedures when making cash deposits
with the Cash Department (CD) or any of the Regional Offices/Branches of the
BSP.
(a)
Banks shall classify their cash
deposits according to: (1) clean or fit notes; and (2) dirty or unfit notes
in accordance with the "Currency Guide for Bank
Tellers, Money Counters and
Cash Custodians" prepared by CIIO, BSP.
The notes thus classified shall be further sorted by series and by
denomination.
(b)
Banks shall provide securely
sealed bags or containers separately for the clean or fit notes, and for the
dirty or unfit notes accompanied by a deposit slip for each type/category.
The deposit slip for the unfit currency notes shall be clearly labeled as
"UNFIT".
(c)
To facilitate handling of
deposits, banks' deposits shall be packed in sealed bags or containers in
standard quantity of twenty (20) full bundles per denomination (each bundle
containing 1,000 notes in ten
(10) equal straps, each strap containing 100 notes).
(d)
Provincial branches of banks may
make direct deposits of currency notes, duly identified and sorted, with the
nearest BSP Regional Office/Branch. In areas where there are no BSP Regional
Offices/Branches, provincial branches of banks shall arrange with their
respective Head Offices the shipment of their unfit or dirty notes for
deposit with CD, BSP in Quezon City. Cost of shipment and other related
expenses to be incurred shall be solely for the account of the bank
concerned.
(e)
In order to ensure compliance
with the BSP's Clean Note Policy, banks shall incorporate measures on the
implementation thereof in their compliance program.
Section 13. Coins submitted by banks to BSP
for deposit/determination of redemption value shall be packed/bagged in
accordance with the following procedure:
(1)
Coins shall be free from adhesive
tapes;
(2)
Coins shall be sorted into fit,
unfit or mutilated, per denomination and per series;
(3)
Each bag
of coins shall contain
the following standard number
of pieces and amount per denomination:
|
Denomination |
Pieces Per Bag |
Amount Per Bag |
|
10-piso |
1,200 |
12,000.00 |
|
5-piso |
1,500 |
7,500.00 |
|
1-piso |
2,000 |
2,000.00 |
|
25-sentimo |
3,000 |
750.00 |
|
10-sentimo |
4,500 |
450.00 |
|
5-sentimo |
5,000 |
250.00 |
|
1-sentimo |
5,000 |
50.00 |
Provided, however, that in the case
of unfit or mutilated coins, these could
be packed in amounts of One Thousand Pesos (Pl,000.00) for
denominations 10-, 5-, and 1-piso; and Fifty Pesos (P50.00) for 25-, 10-,
5-, and 1-sentimo.
Section 14.
The CD and the Regional Offices/Branches of BSP may
refuse acceptance of cash deposits that do not conform to these guidelines
and procedures.
REPLACEMENT AND
REDEMPTION OF LEGAL TENDER PHILIPPINE CURRENCY
NOTES AND COINS CONSIDERED MUTILATED
OR UNFIT FOR CIRCULATION
Section 15. Authority- Section
56 of R.A. No. 7653 provides that:
"The Bangko Sentral shall withdraw
from circulation and shall demonetize all notes and coins which for any
reason whatsoever are unfit for circulation and shall replace them by
adequate notes and coins. Provided, however, that the Bangko Sentral shall
not replace notes and coins the identification of which is impossible, coins
which show signs of filing, clipping or perforation, and notes which have
lost more than two-fifths (2/5) of their surface or all of the signatures
inscribed thereon. Notes and coins in such mutilated condition shall be
withdrawn from circulation and demonetized without compensation to the
bearer."
Section 16. A currency note
shall be considered unfit for circulation when:
(a)
It contains heavy creases which
break the fiber of the paper and indicate that
disintegration has begun; or
(b)
It is badly soiled/contaminated
and/or with writings even if it has proper life or sizing; or
(c}
It presents a limp or
raglike appearance and/or
it cannot sustain
its upright position when held at the mid portion of one of the shorter
borders.
Section 17.
A currency note shall be considered mutilated when:
(a}
Torn parts of the banknote are joined
together with adhesive
tape aimed at preserving as nearly as possible the original design
and size of the note; or
(b}
The original size of the note has been reduced/lost through wear
and tear or has been otherwise torn, damaged, defaced or perforated
through action of insects, chemicals or other causes; or
(c}
It is scorched or
burned to such an extent
that although recognizable as
such, it has become frail and brittle as to render further handling thereof
impossible without disintegration or breaking; or
(d} It is split
edgewise; or
(e} It has lost all
the signatures inscribed thereon; or
(f}
The Embedded Security Thread or Windowed Security Thread placed on the
banknote is lost.
(a}
It is bent or twisted out of shape or defaced or show signs of
corrosion, but its genuineness and/or
denomination can still be
readily and clearly determined/ identified;
or
(b}
It has been considerably reduced in
weight by natural abrasion/wear and
tear.
(a} It shows signs
of filing, clipping or perforation; or
(b}
It shows signs of
having been burned, corroded
or has been so
defaced, that its genuineness and/or
denomination cannot be readily
and clearly identified.
Section 20. Currency notes and coins
considered unfit for circulation shall not be recirculated, but may be
presented for exchange to or deposited with any bank.
Section 21. Banks shall accept from the public
mutilated notes and coins for referral/transmittal to CIIO, BSP - Quezon
City or any of the BSP Regional Offices/Branches for determination of
redemption value. Banks may charge reasonable handling fees from clients
and/or the general public relative to the handling/transporting to BSP of
mutilated notes and coins.
Section 22. The BSP shall replace or redeem
notes and coins considered unfit for circulation or mutilated except under
the following conditions:
(a)
Identification of
notes and coins is
impossible; or
(b)
Coins that
show signs of filing,
clipping or perforation; or
(c)
Notes which have lost more than
two-fifths (2/5) of their surface or all
of the signatures inscribed thereon; or
(d)
Notes which are split edgewise
resulting in the loss of the whole of or part of, either the face or back
portion of the banknote paper; or
(e)
Notes where the Embedded Security
Thread or Windowed Security Thread placed thereon is completely lost except
when the damage appears to be caused by wear and tear, accidental burning,
action of water or chemical or bites of rodents/insects and the
like.
Notes and coins falling under any of the classifications mentioned under
this Section shall be withdrawn from circulation and demonetized without
compensation to the owner/bearer.
PHILIPPINE CURRENCY NOTES AND
COINS
CALLED IN FOR REPLACEMENT
Section 23. Section 57 of
R.A. No. 7653 provides that:
"The Bangko Sentral may call in for replacement notes of any series or
denomination which are more than five (5) years old and coins which are more
than ten (10) years old.
Notes and coins called
in for replacement in
accordance with this provision shall remain legal tender for a
period of one (1) year from the date of call. After this period, they shall
cease to be legal tender but during
the following year, or for
such longer period as
the Monetary Board may determine, they may be exchanged at par and
without charge in the Bangko Sentral and by agents duly authorized by the
Bangko Sentral for this purpose. After the expiration of this latter period,
the notes and coins which have not been exchanged shall cease to be a
liability of the Bangko Sentral and shall be demonetized. The
Bangko Sentral shall also
demonetize all notes and coins
which have been called
in and replaced."
Section 24. Any
person or entity, public or private, who receives, takes
hold or has in his possession Philippine currency notes and coins called in
for replacement shall forward the same during the redemption period
to:
(a)
Any authorized agent banks of the
BSP when the notes are still considered legal tender, within one year from
the date of call; or
(b)
The CD or Regional
Offices/Branches of the BSP, within the redemption period as may be
determined by the Monetary Board.
Section 25. The CD or Regional
Offices/Branches of the BSP shall exchange the notes/coins called in for
replacement if presented to the BSP within the redemption period as
determined by the Monetary Board and subsequently dispose the same in
accordance with BSP procedures for disposal.
Section 26. Any violation of the provisions of
Sections 8 and 9, Chapter II, and Sections 10 and 11, Chapter
Ill, of this Circular, shall subject the offender to imprisonment of not
less than five (5) years, but not more than ten (10) years. In case
the Revised Penal Code
provides for a greater
penalty, then that penalty
shall be imposed.
Section 27. All Central Bank Circulars,
pertinent prov1s1ons in the Manual of Regulations for Banks and Other
Financial Intermediaries and other rules and regulations which are
contradictory or inconsistent with this Circular are hereby revoked and
repealed.
Section 28.
This Circular shall take effect immediately.