BSP unveils P5,000 Lapu-Lapu bill, medal

AS PART of the 99th day countdown to the 500th anniversary of the “Victory at Mactan,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in cooperation with the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), launched on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, the P5,000 Lapu-Lapu Commemorative banknote and medal.

The historic event was held in Fort San Antonio Abad, Manila with Executive Secretary of the President Salvador Medialdia, National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairman Dr. Rene Escalante, Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard Chan and First Lady and Lapu-Lapu City Tourism Cultural and Historical Affairs Commission chairman Cindi King-Chan.

“This is a huge pride for us Oponganons that our forefather is greatly remembered in the entire country because we see him every day through the banknotes. I thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for revering the name of our own hero on the national level,” Chan said in his official Facebook page.

BSP officer-in-charge Francisco Dakila Jr. and senior assistant Gov. Dahlia Luna presented the banknote and medal to Medialdea, who received the items on behalf of President Duterte.

“The BSP and NCQ have collaborated on this commemorative banknote and medal to celebrate the heroism of Lapu-Lapu and his warriors, and to familiarize the present generation with the country’s rich pre-colonial history,” Dakila said.

The celebration of the 500th anniversary of Lapu-Lapu’s victory and the special part the Philippines played in the world’s circumnavigation are collectively referred to as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (QCP).

On its obverse, the banknote depicts a young Lapu-Lapu, an image of the battle of Mactan, the QCP logo and the “karaoka,” the large outrigger warships used by native 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 the tree of a coconut, which was food the people of Samar provided to Ferdinand Magellan and his crew; and Mt. Apo, which is located in Mindanao, where the circumnavigators finally found directional clues to their intended destination of Maluku or the Spice Island.

Moreover, the medal features on the obverse the markings, “Lapulapu,” above an image of the Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Cebu; and the logos of the QCP and the BSP.

Its reverse shows the markings “Battle of Mactan,” a rendition of the said battle, and the date “27 April 1521.” (JOB)