The BSP wanted stiffer sanctions and penalties against coin hoarders and counterfeiters.
BSP — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was proposing a more rigid package of sanctions and penalties against currency counterfeiting and to criminalize the stockpiling of large amounts of coins.
According to BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno, they’re currently conducting preparatory work, which was “in full swing” for the legislature in order to “raise the penalty for crimes involving currency counterfeiting and to criminalize the hoarding of coins”.
During his weekly online press chat on January 27, Diokno said that the central bank proposed to increase the length of imprisonment in order to deter counterfeiting through amendment of existing laws.
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Under existing laws, the crime of producing counterfeit banknotes carried a PHP 2 million maximum fine and a jail sentence of at least 12 years and a day.
“Our proposal for stiffer penalties will also take into consideration the current economic landscape as well as advancements in printing technologies,” Diokno said.
Diokno also said that the central bank was proposing the enactment of a law that “will define the crime of coin hoarding and will provide penalties for the commission of [the] said offense”.
Diokno added that this will involve the revival of earlier legislative initiatives on coin hoarding at the House of Representatives and at the Senate.
The central bank was hoping that its proposed measures will further strengthen its currency operations such as production, distribution, authenticity verification, deposit-taking from banks, anti-counterfeiting operations, and retirement.
BSP retired coins and banknotes deemed unfit, mutilated, and demonetized in order to ensure that only fit and legal tender coins and banknotes were circulated to the public.
Banknotes retired or destroyed by the BSP have been declining in the last 3 years. Since 2019, they have retired PHP 2.44 trillion worth of banknotes in different denominations.
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