No new Philippine banknote featuring traditional tattoo artist: central bank

An image that appears to show a 5,000-peso banknote was shared on Facebook on November 25.

It features centenarian Maria Oggay, famously known as Whang-od in the Philippines.

The post's Tagalog-language caption translates as: "The Philippines' new money (5000 peso bill). The legendary tattoo artist from binguet, ifugao [sic]. Apo Whang-od."

At the lower right-hand side of the image, text could be seen which reads, "By: Michael Angelo M. Sarate".

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Screenshot of the false post taken on December 5, 2023

Whang-od practices "batok", a traditional hand-tapped tattoo technique. She is from the northern province of Kalinga but the post mistakenly says she is from Benguet and Ifugao, which are two nearby but separate provinces.

Batok, inked in different parts of the body, had served as symbol of beauty, victory in war or eligibility in marriage.

Similar posts shared the image of Whang-od on a 5,000-peso bill here, here and here. Comments suggest people believed the claim.

"The Philippines is now like Japan, Thailand and Indonesia which has a 5,000 paper bill," wrote one.

"It would be terrible if one misplaced this money," another said.

However, the Facebook posts are false.

Misrepresented artwork

In response to AFP's inquiry, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country's central bank said on December 7 that the circulating posts are false and the bank has no plans to release a 5,000-peso banknote.

Philippine banknotes currently in circulation displayed at the BSP's website do not include a 5,000-peso bill (archived link).

Existing banknotes are in the 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000-peso denomination.

A keyword search of the name "Michael Angelo Sarate" on Facebook found the original post uploaded on November 20 (archived link).

Sarate, a graphic designer, told AFP on December 5 that he created the image as a tribute to Philippine culture, heritage and craftsmanship.

His post has been shared over 13,000 times.

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Screenshot of the original post by Michael Angelo Sarate

"Regarding the claims that it will be produced by Bangko Sentral, there's no truth to that. It's an artwork to show appreciation to Michelle Dee and Mark Bumgarner's masterpiece to honor Apo Whang-od," he said.

Sarate is referring to a gown the Philippines' bet wore during the international beauty tilt Miss Universe on November 18. It was designed like a tattoo as a tribute to Whang-od (archived link).

This is not the first time Sarate created a banknote artwork that features a prominent Filipino.

In 2020, he shared a 2,000-peso bill designed with the image of the late Philippine senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, after watching that year's Miss Universe pageant (archived links here and here).

Multiple local news outlets featured Sarate's 2,000-peso banknote, including GMA News and The Philippine Star (archived links here and here).

AFP debunked a similar claim that the country's central bank released a 5,000-peso bill which was shared in December 2022.

A representative from the BSP told AFP at the time that the banknote was a commemorative currency issued in 2021 and is not in circulation.