SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to reconsider its plan to replace the country’s World War II heroes with the Philippine eagle in the P1,000 bill, a move that he says would erase our heroes from the consciousness of future generations and deny their rightful place in history.

“We should always enrich our history by preserving the names and faces of wartime heroes as often as possible. These people are part of who we are as a nation. Erasing them from the P1,000 bill will erase them from the memory of generations to come,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, said.

“We should, at all times and in all places, take pride in, preserve and promote our rich history, especially to the youth and generations to come. This entails refraining from acts that trivialize the symbols of recognition of our heroes’ sacrifices and martyrdom,” he added.

Last week, the central bank released the proposed new design of the P1,000 bill, which has been approved by the Office of the President and the Monetary Board.

The BSP said that the new design will be used on the new banknotes made of polymer, which it said is safer to use amid the Covid19 pandemic and more cost-effective.

It also said that the design of the new banknote was approved by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines which NHCP denies.

Earlier, the kin of Jose Abad Santos, Vicente Lim and Josefa Llanes Escoda — all of whom were executed during World War II — expressed dismay on the banknote’s new design.

They pointed out that the P1,000 bill is the only banknote featuring martyrs and removing their portraits would also remove one of the few ways they are remembered.

The new banknote is scheduled for circulation in April 2022 and the first in a new series of Philippine currency that will focus on the country’s rich flora and fauna.

BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said that the banknotes featuring the World War II heroes will remain in circulation and will not be demonetized.