Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 4) — The country’s polymer ₱1,000 bill has won the International Banknote Society’s (IBNS) “Bank note of the Year Award.”
This is the first Philippine banknote to clinch the award, besting competition from Algeria, Barbados, Egypt, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
\”The Philippines’ successful design in eye-pleasing blue combines an endangered species with an environmental motif,\” the IBNS said.
First released in April last year, the polymer features Philippine flora and fauna. It replaced the old design that featured Filipino heroes Jose Abad Santos, Josefa Llanes-Escoda, and Gen. Vicente Lim.
Polymer banknotes are said to have a lifespan that’s 2.5 to 4 times longer than the usual paper ones, and can be sanitized without getting damaged.
