This image of a Philippine banknote has been doctored to misspell President Rodrigo Duterte’s name
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on October 6, 2020 at 05:00
- 2 min read
- By AFP Philippines
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
The photo was posted on Facebook here on September 28, 2020.
It shows a 1,000 Philippine pesos ($20.7) banknote, and is captioned in part: “Instead of 'Rodrigo Roa Duterte,' the banknote says 'Rodrigo Boa Duterte.'"
Identical photos have also been shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here and here; on Twitter here, here and here; on Reddit here; in this Wikipedia post; and in this website post.
The purported misprint was also reported by local newspaper Manila Bulletin here and Esquire magazine here.
The claim is misleading; the image has been doctored.
A closer analysis found the photo in the misleading posts had been digitally altered to insert the letter “B” instead of the original “R” in the word “Roa”.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading posts (L) and a photo of a genuine 1,000 Philippine pesos banknote (R), with the alteration circled in red by AFP:
The central bank, which maintains sole authority to legally issue currency in the Philippines, also denied issuing the banknote.
This statement posted September 30, 2020 on the bank’s website states: “The 1000-Piso banknote with the alleged misspelled middle name of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte featured in a story in a website is not legal tender. The serial number shown in the said banknote does not match any of the ones issued by the BSP for the 1000-Piso Enhanced New Generation Currency banknote.”
Asked if the photo shows a counterfeit banknote, a representative for the bank told AFP in an email on October 2, 2020: “The Currency Analysis group cannot determine the authenticity/genuineness of the banknote based only on a photo; the actual note needs to be submitted to the BSP for examination.”
Multiple Philippine news organisations, for example ABS-CBN here and GMA News here, reported on the central bank’s clarification about the purported misprint.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
