THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced last Thursday that it will release the guidelines for the public purchase of the 5,000-peso Lapulapu Commemorative Banknote and Medal in March.
“The BSP is pleased about the public interest being generated by the Lapulapu banknote and medal. We see this as an expression of the public’s appreciation of the numismatic, artistic, and historical value woven into the commemorative items,” BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno said in a virtual news briefing.
The Lapulapu banknote was launched last month to kick off the 99-day countdown to the 500th anniversary of the “Victory at Mactan.”
Diokno said the Lapulapu Commemorative Banknote can be purchased for P5,500 while the Lapulapu Commemorative Medal is priced at P3,500 per piece.
“The guidelines for ordering, paying for and claiming the limited commemorative items will be posted on the BSP website,” Diokno said.
On its obverse, the banknote depicts a young Lapulapu, an image of the battle of Mactan, the Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (QCP) logo, and the karaoka—the large outrigger warships used by Filipinos.
Meanwhile, the reverse shows the Philippine eagle, or the Manaol, “which symbolizes clear vision, freedom and strength; and which embodies the ancient Visayan belief that all living creatures originated from an eagle.”
Also featured are a coconut tree—food the people of Samar provided to Ferdinand Magellan and his crew—and Mount Apo, the mountain where the circumnavigators found directional clues to their intended destination of Maluku or the Spice Island.
The medal, on the other hand, features the markings “Lapulapu” above an image of the Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Cebu and the logos of the QCP and the BSP on the obverse. Its reverse shows the markings “Battle of Mactan,” a rendition of the said battle and the date “27 April 1521.”