MANILA — Presidential aspirant Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso on Monday appealed to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to reconsider its decision to replace portraits of Filipino heroes with the Philippine eagle in the new design of the 1,000-Piso banknote.

The new P1,000 bill will feature the endangered Philippine eagle, replacing World War II heroes Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, Brig. Gen. Vicente Lim and Girl Scouts of the Philippines founder Josefa Llanes Escoda, who were killed during the Japanese occupation in the Philippines.

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During the flag-raising ceremony at the Manila City Hall, Domagoso said he has reservations about the new design.

“Sana magbago ang isip ng BSP na tanggalin ang ilang mga bayani sa mukha ng pera sa mga darating na panahon,” he added.

(Hopefully, the BSP will change its mind to remove some heroes in the face of money in the years to come.)

In an ambush interview after the ceremony, Domagoso told ABS-CBN News that the BSP can retain the Filipino heroes while incorporating flora and fauna in the new design of the P1,000 bill.

“While it is true that the eagle should be there also, siguro pwede naman halfway ‘yun. Ang heroes sa kabila, ‘yung ating national treasures, mga mahahalagang bagay o unique sa bansa natin, nandoon pa rin katulad ng agila,” he said.

(While it is true that the eagle should be there too, maybe we can meet halfway. The heroes could be on one side while our national treasures, valuables, or unique to our country, are still there like the eagle.)

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Sunday that the photo of the new banknote, which was shared on social media, is not the final design.

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