Atom decries peso bill redesign: ‘Devoid of heroes’

BEYOND MONEY MATTERS Still making its voice heard more than four decades since it first took to the streets, the August Twenty-One Movement (Atom) rails at the removal of historic figures from the new peso bills, including the ex-Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. whose killing in 1983 led to the group's formation. Photographed here are Atom leaders during a commemoration of Ninoy's death in 2016. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ/INQUIRER

One of 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.”

For the August Twenty-One Movement (Atom), the new polymer banknotes, which mainly feature plants and animals endemic to the Philippines, are “even worse than the Bagong Lipunan bills released during martial law where our heroes and leaders were retained.”

“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,” it added.

Atom issued the statement a day after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) unveiled the new versions of the P500, P100 and P50 bills, which now depict mostly Philippine fauna and no longer bearing the portraits of historical figures.

The same change had been made in the P1,000 bill, which was redesigned earlier, in 2022, when the BSP adopted the more durable polymer and replaced abaca as material for the next generation of banknotes.

Erasing collective memory

The new P500, for example, 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.

The new bills were formally introduced by the BSP before President Marcos during a program at Malacañang on Thursday.

Atom was formed as a protest movement against the rule of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the President’s late father and namesake, following Ninoy’s assassination on Aug. 21, 1983.

“For more than two decades, the dictator’s family has been hard at work trying to rewrite history and erase from our collective memory the heroes who bravely fought for our freedom,” said Atom in a statement released by its current president, Volt Bohol.

Equally important

“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 inspiration in the hearts of our people,” the group added.

At a press conference on Friday, BSP Assistant Governor Mary Anne Lim explained that ”our paper banknotes featuring our Filipino heroes will still be there and they will continue to be used by the public … We will not stop producing paper banknotes.”

“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. We want to promote more public awareness and environmental responsibility for our flora and fauna,” she added.