Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso on Monday, Dec. 13, appealed to the officials of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to reconsider the new design for the P1,000-bill which replaced the country’s three World War II heroes.
During the flag raising ceremony at the Kartilya ng Katipunan monument on Monday, Domagoso said he prefers to have the hero-martyrs on the P1,000-peso bill, namely, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes Escoda, and Gen. Vicente Lim.
“I’m trying to call the attention of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to reconsider their decision. While it is true that the eagle should be there also, but siguro pwede namang half-way yun (maybe it can be made half-way)," he said.
The new design for the P1,000-bill, which was designed by the BSP and approved by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, now shows the image of the Philippine eagle.
"Pwede naman sa kabila andun pa rin yung ating mga heroes tapos yung sa kabila yung ating national treasure, mga mahahalagang bagay o unique sa bansa natin eh andudun pa rin katulad ng agila (the heroes can be placed on one side, and on the other side, our national treasure, the important people or those unique to us, will still be there like the eagle),” Domagoso said.
“I would rather have our heroes there. Kaya nga alam mo, sa totoo lang, siguro its high-time dahil maraming ahensya ng gobyerno (Honestly, maybe its high-time because there are so many government agencies), its high-time for us to create a Department of National History and Culture,” Domagoso stressed.
The Manila mayor said he would push for the creation of a Department of National Culture and History to promote and show appreciation for the country's history and culture if he wins in the upcoming election.
“While it is true na okay tayo na mag-adapt sa ibang kultura, pero, hindi natin pwedeng kalimutan yung sariling atin, ang ating kasaysayan, kultura, mga bayani. Hindi pwedeng mawala ito kasi ito ang distinction mo bilang isang bansa (While it is true that it is okay for us to adapt to another culture, we cannot forget our own, our history, culture, heroes. It cannot be lost because it is your distinction as a nation).