Gloria Macapagal-Arrovo
It’s a SNAFU all over again!
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had misspelled the name of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the one hundred peso bill. Instead of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the bills have Gloria Macapagal-“Arrovo” printed on it. The BSP had admitted to the mistake and apologizes to Mrs. Arroyo.
These bills are already in circulation and the BSP has assured everyone that these bills are still Legal Tender. If you happen to have one, don’t panic, instead feel lucky. The BSP said that this is the very first time that such a mistake happened, hence what you got is a collector’s item.
However, “The very first time” may not exactly be true, if one remembers the misspelling on the 1983 50 centavo coin that featured the Philippine Eagle on the reverse, where its scientific name was misspelled as Pithecobhaga jefferyi, instead of Pithecophaga jefferyi.
The misspelt one hundred peso bill is indeed a collector’s item not only because of its typographical error but for the political parody the mistake brings. Citing the misspelt Arrovo, robo or robar in Spanish means steal or to steal. Arroyo is still haunted by allegations that she won the Presidency by stealing votes. This one-of-a-kind one hundred peso bill is a collector’s item if only to show the government’s perennial “honest” mistakes.
I’ve got to find one and start a collection.
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Photo taken from Agence France Press (AFP)