BSP aims to address coin need

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) wants to get five- and 10-centavo coins back into circulation with a plan to mint more of the low-denomination coins over the next two years. It has also beefed up a two-pronged campaign aimed at retrieving low-denomination coins locked up in drawers, piggy banks and jars. "We’re minting some more. And we continue to do our re-circulation campaign so we keep on supplying the needs of the market," BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said. Monetary authorities have drafted an plan for the central bank to produce around 100 million five- and 10-centavo coins next year, accounting for a significant share of the 100 billion coins in various denominations it mints annually, BusinessWorld learned. This number would be doubled in 2009 as the central bank would issue more than 100 million pieces for each of the two low-denomination coins. The currency order proposal, still subject to revision, will be submitted to the Monetary Board for approval. Some sectors have claimed that five- and 10-centavo coins have gone scarce, and that bank branches have been failing to give clients with retail or remittance operations a steady supply. Mr. Guinigundo said the central bank’s proposed currency orders should keep low-denomination coins in the financial system, and that the recirculation campaign which began last year should also help sustain regular use of low-denomination coins. In June 2006, the BSP launched the so-called "Tulong Barya sa Eskwela" program, which encouraged schoolchildren to hand over coins locked up in drawers, piggy banks and jars. The campaign, which ended in December, gathered P6.6 million and 6.7 million coins, 83% of which were low-denomination coins. The central bank exchanged the coins for notes with groups of Philippine retailers and supermarket owners, in effect allowing the coins to again circulate, Mr. Guinigundo said. The peso notes would then be used to build classrooms and buy computers for schools in the provinces this coming schoolyear, he added. The central bank rolled out a similar program last March involving BSP employees, the proceeds of which would be used to build houses for the Gawad Kalinga group. An initial count showed the campaign has so far gathered 294,135 pieces of low-denomination coins, amounting to at least P60, 000. "Those coins will also be swapped with supermarkets and retailers for notes," Mr. Guinigundo said. Phasing out the five- and 10-centavo coins remains remote as demand lingers, the BSP official pointed out. "[Phasing out] will depend on the demand of the public. In the next few years, we’ll have to check the preference of the general public," Mr. Guinigundo said. - Ma. Eloisa I. Calderon/BusinessWorld