Bangko Sentral to release P20 coin before year ends

If you find it difficult to distinguish the new P5 coins from the old P1 coins, you might soon have another denomination to struggle to tell apart from the rest.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has announced that it will release a P20 coin, either before the year ends or next year.

The central bank's reason for its decision to mint a P20 coin is that coins last longer than paper, and that the P20 bill is the most used of all the paper bills.

In a statement on Friday, the BSP said that one of the recommendations of the University of the Philippines in its recently conducted total systems study on the currency cycle was the "replacement of the 20-Piso banknote with coin..."

The UP study has found that the P20 banknote is the most used denomination for small-value transactions, "causing it to be easily unfit and returned to the BSP for replacement."

"As with previous currency issuances and enhancements, the design, security features and specifications of the 20-Piso coin shall be a result of an extensive and in-depth deliberation by the BSP’s Committee on Currency Design and Enhancements," the central bank said.

"The Committee’s proposal shall be submitted to the Monetary Board and then recommended for final approval of the President of the Philippines," it said.

An earlier GMA News 24 Oras report by Oscar Oida interviewed some members of the public who aired their concerns about having another coin to figure out the worth of.

Shopkeeper Grace Lebios said that she was already getting cross-eyed over trying to tell the current new coins apart.

“Nagkakamali din ako minsan kasi pagsukli ko akala ko imbes na dos lang, nagiging sais kasi akala ko [piso] 'yung [baong] lima piso," she said.

Puto seller Marlon raised another concern: the weight.

“Medyo masyado na pong mabigat sa bulsa. Baka masira mga bulsa,” he said.

Tricycle driver Romy Walvez suggested using a different color for the new coin.

"Ibang kulay, hindi puti rin, kasi minsan sampu nagkakamali ka...'yun pa kayang bente kung pare-parehong puti." — BM, GMA News