BSP to release blind-friendly peso bills

To the blind and visually-impaired, detecting the denomination of Philippine peso coins is easy because of their sizes.  But, determining the peso bills they are holding can be a challenge.

The announcement of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno announcement about impending changes to the country's peso bills is a welcome news.

The Philippine banknotes expected to be released in the first quarter of 2020 will have extra features, such as tactile marks helpful to the blind and the visually-impaired, according to Oscar Oida's report on GMA News 24 Oras.

Raquel Java, a blind masseur, looks forward to the new bills.

Blind since she was eight, Java said she still finds it hard to distinguish one peso bill from another.  She said she separates them according to their arrangement in her wallet.

"For example po, ito yung pera ko, ito po 100 po yata ito sa loob po malaking bill na nilalagay ko mas mababa sa labas para mas mabikis makuha," she said.

She laments that sometimes, she could be paying more for the price of what she purchased, or could be receiving less for her service because she could not see the bills.

"Masakit po kasi inaasahan mo yung pera na gagamitin mo sa mga bagay kunwari sa tuition ng anak mo, napakasakit po kasi pinaghirapan po namin yon," Java said. 

She said she looks forward to the release of the new banknotes, which will help blind people like her handle their money better. —LDF, GMA News