It seems like the Aquino administration in its first six months has managed to commit mistakes and errors that hopefully would not define how the rest of the 66 months left would be.
After the frenzy over the redefined marketing and tourism of the country through the slogan Pilipinas, Kay Ganda - which sparked rumors after its alleged plagiarism of Poland's slogan (read news stories here: 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' logo lifted from Poland logo? No ‘wow’ factor in tourism’s new slogan ) - the administration is now being grilled by several experts on Philippine geography after several errors appeared in some banknotes newly printed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
I am hoping that those working under the president review and proofread anything before releasing it. Thank you.
Here is the news about this issue from www.inquirer.net:
Error-filled peso bills spark uproar
(Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines—Geographically challenged Philippine maps and a rare parrot with the wrong-colored beak have perturbed the country after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rolled out error-filled new editions of its peso bills.
The new banknotes, scheduled to be rolled out this month and containing the signature of President Benigno Aquino III who took office this year, bombed spectacularly in the graphics department, according to critics.
The reverse side of the new 500-peso bill features a rare native bird—the blue-naped parrot, with its red beak incorrectly rendered in yellow and its tail feathers underneath colored green instead of yellow.
A map on the same bill—which also carries portraits of Mr. Aquino’s late parents—mislocates Palawan’s Saint Paul’s subterranean river that has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site.
“Yes, they have made a very big booboo on the parrot,” said Jon Villasper, a cartographer who is also a member of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines.
“Aside from that, they misplaced Tubbataha Reef by around 400 kilometers and Batanes is not on the map. I believe they also misplaced Saint Paul’s subterranean river,” Villasper told Agence France-Presse by e-mail.
Printed on the 1,000-peso bill is a map locating the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, another prized Philippine UNESCO world heritage site, on or near Malaysian territorial waters.
The map of the Philippines featured on six different bills redraws the country’s territory, places its northern limit 150 kilometers south of the actual line and excludes the Batanes island group.
Lawyer Ghelynne Avril del Rosario said the mistakes echoed a rebranding campaign by the Department of Tourism that was withdrawn last month amid charges that its slogan was forgettable, it plagiarized Poland’s campaign and the URL of its website resembled that of a pornographic site.
Space constraints
Like the campaign, the bills are now fodder for ridicule on Internet social networking sites, Rosario said.
“Just like scrapping the ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda (Philippines What a Beauty)’ slogan, let’s scrap the new peso notes as well!” Del Rosario said.
BSP spokesperson Fe de la Cruz acknowledged the criticisms, but said space constraints limited the artist’s room for maneuver.
“In choosing the design, we are always guided by our commitment to enrich the appreciation and knowledge of the Filipinos we honor on our banknotes, as well as the unique sites and species our country should be proud of,” said De la Cruz, director of the BSP corporate affairs office.
“For our banknotes, we used an artist’s rendition of the Philippine map that by virtue of space and aesthetics does not reflect all of our islands and the precise coordinates of each site,” she said. “Nevertheless, we appreciate constructive comments and we will take these into account moving forward.”
In the redesign of the new banknotes, the BSP tapped the services of Design Systemat and Studio 5 Designs.
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco earlier said the central bank decided to feature the country’s top tourist destinations in the new banknotes to attract more visitors to the country.
It was not the first time the central bank has been left red-faced over currency design. In 2005, it was forced to withdraw bills that misspelled President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s name as “Gloria Arrovo.”
In the 1980s, the central bank issued a 50-centavo coin that misspelled the scientific name of the Philippine eagle as Pithecobhaga jefferyi, instead of Pithecophaga jefferyi. Reports from Agence France-Presse and Michelle V. Remo
I honestly don't see any problems with the new bank notes. It was already explained that they couldn't render the parrot's beak in red because it would cause the entire bill to turn red. If they wanted to change the color so much they should just go get themselves a coloring book. The entire fuss about the bills is simply ludicrous [I like that word].
ReplyDeleteI think the more important thing that people should focus on is the fact that these new bills have achieved greater protection against counterfeiting--for as long as people can use the bills, no one will really care whether Tito, Vic, and Joey for some reason, replace the people on the P1000 bill.
Felt too much for the artist who designed the bills. Must be frustrating for him/her. :)) Can't help myself from reacting. :)) Hi sir.
Thanks Jamie for reacting. =)
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