The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has approved British banknotes printer De La Rue PLC’s proposal to make the template for the new designs of Philippine currency, but the printing of new bills will be bid out to six foreign companies.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo Wednesday said the government will save up to P73 million by getting De La Rue to make the metal plates and dies for the new generation banknotes.

Guinigundo also confirmed that Malacañang has approved the new generation of Philippine currency, as well as the new central bank logo which will be revealed in July, in time for the institution’s 61st anniversary.

Guinigundo, currently in an official trip to Uzbekistan, clarified that the printing of new money will still be bid out and it is possible to have different printers for each of the bills, distributed as 20-piso, 50-piso, 100-piso, 200-piso, 500-piso and 1,000-piso.

“We decided to accept De La Rue’s proposal to prepare the metal plates and dies free of charge because it will save us P22 million to P73 million,” he explained. “This will also save us time and since there will be only one originator for all six-denominations, we are assured of uniformity of execution of ‘banknotization’ into origination materials.”

An international bidding for the printers of the new Philippine currency will be held soon, using De La Rue’s origination templates.

BSP has to regularly change its banknotes designs to throw off counterfeiters since new money would have new security features which would make it “very difficult and costly” to copy. The new designed money, which will be released in December, will allow the public to easily detect counterfeit currency.

The BSP is also pursuing rehabilitation and upgrades of its Quezon City-based printing plant. The central bank said it will cost P5.7 billion to refurbish its 31-year-old banknotes printer at the Security Printing Complex.

The SPC rehabilitation has been “on the table” for the last seven years, with the BSP setting aside P100 million to P300 million a year as reserve account for SPC.

BSP officials said upgrades are needed to be installed or constructed before buying the P2.6-billion superline machines for the printing of banknotes.

The decision to buy a superline printer, replacing the 1976 and 1983 printers in SPC, was approved as early as 2007.

The BSP is upgrading its money facility because it wants to limit the outsourcing of printing banknotes.