BSP: Printing glitch caused P100 bills sans Manuel Roxas’ face

The ‘faceless’ P100 bills that were withdrawn from an automated teller machine were caused by a glitch in the printing of the banknotes, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Thursday.

“In the manufacturing and production process, there are cases when machine errors cause rare misprints. In this particular case, the BSP has identified the mechanical cause of the said erroneous printing,” BSP Managing Director Carlyn Pangilinan said at a press briefing in Manila.

Netizen Earla Anne Yehey recently posted pictures of P100 bills without the face of President Manuel Roxas. She said withdrew the bills from an ATM of the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI).

Both the BSP and BPI earlier said they were investigating the matter.

After initial investigation, Pangilinan said the misprint was due to a mechanical error in the printing machine, which was acquired just last month.

According to Pangilinan, only a minimal amount of the bills have affected — 33 pieces or 0.00009 percent of the total banknotes in circulation — and have already been resolved.

“The BSP encourages the individuals affected to turn-over the misprinted notes. Those individuals may, during office hours, either at its head office in Manila or its Security Plant Complex in Quezon City visit the BSP,” she said.

“After verification of the bills’ authenticity, the BSP shall replace the same,” she added.

Legal tender

In the same briefing, Pangilinan said the “faceless” bills were legal tender, but the BSP advised the public not to use them for transactions.

“Because it was issues by the BSP, it is legal tender,” she said. —NB, GMA News