CEBU CITY — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas office in Central Visayas (BSP 7) has once again appealed to the public to circulate Philippine coins in order to avoid a looming coin shortage in the country.

“The problem is that we are warehousing these coins and we now have an artificial shortage of coins. The problem is not with the supply of coins but with efficient re-circulation,” announced BSP 7 Acting Director Maria Lux Berciles.

In a survey conducted by the Cebu Bankers Club, the organization’s president, John Salas said the problem on circulation is hampered by the habit of hoarding coins, where coins are warehoused in piggy banks, vending machines, and amusement centers.
Barciles said the longer these coins are idled the more this will hasten the shortage of coins due to slow turn-over.

BSP data shows that in December 2009, 15.6 billion pieces of coins valued at P17 billion, were in circulation. The BSP said in the financial system currently are 419.8 million P10 coins; 1.3 billion P5 coins; 4.3 billion P1 coins; 5.5 billion 25 cents; 2.4 billion 10 centavo coins; 1.6 billion 5 centavo coins; and 18.7 billion one centavo coins.

About 89 percent of total coins in circulation are low-denomination coins.

Barciles noted that among other Southeast Asian countries, the Philippines has the highest per capita of coins.

There are 169 coins for each Filipino, based on the 15.6 billion coins in circulation vis-a-vis a recorded population of 9.2 million people in the country at present. However, excluding the 8.7 million overseas Filipinos, the ratio increases to 187 coins per Filipino.

The BSP official feared that if efficient re-circulation of coins is not effected, the country would soon face a coin shortage, which is a situation already evident in Argentina and India, where merchants refuse to sell their goods and services if it means they’ll have to give coins back as change.

Salas vowed the CBC will join with BSP in its advocacy to urge the public to re-issue coins back in circulation.

CBC auditor Alfredo Santisteban said the shortage of low denomination coins offers traders an excuse to round off prices to higher values.