ANGELES CITY -- Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said it was considering the proposal to add former president Corazon "Cory" Aquino's portrait to the new design of the P500 bill.

The front portion of the current P500 bill features the image of Mrs. Aquino's husband, former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. The late senator was slain in 1983 as he arrived from exile in the United States.

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BSP Deputy Governor Armando Suratos said on Friday that the Central Bank is seriously considering the proposal made last week by former Energy Secretary Vince Perez.

Perez reportedly suggested to BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. to have the yellow P500 bill redesigned and include the portrait of Mrs. Aquino, who is touted as the People Power icon.

"Yes. We are seriously considering the proposal but this would depend on the decision of the numismatic committee who is tasked to do this. It's quiet a complex and tedious process when you design and come out with new currency notes and coins," Suratos said.

The numismatic committee is composed of Central Bank officials led by Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo, National Historical Institute (NHI) chair Ambeth Ocampo, and former BSP Governor Jaime Laya.

"We will look into possibilities on the proposal to have Mrs. Aquino on one of the notes or include her in the P500 bill as we are anyway improving the look of our peso notes," Suratos said.

Mrs. Aquino died on August 1, after a year of battling colon cancer. She was laid to rest on Wednesday last week after an almost nine-hour funeral procession to her final resting place at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City.

In 2002, the BSP issued a P200 bill bearing the portrait of former president Diosdado Macapagal, father of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Suratos said the Central Bank is poised to issue new designs for the peso notes as many of these were too old.

He said apart from the new look of the bills to be released starting next year, the BSP is also enhancing the security features of the notes to avert counterfeiting by syndicates and unscrupulous groups.

In Congress, Representatives Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) and Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) said they will support the House resolution to include Mrs. Aquino in the list of national heroes.

Mrs. Aquino deserves to be distinguished as a national hero like her husband who was assassinated in 1983, said del Mar.

"If anyone deserves it, it's her. She put her life on the line in restoring democracy. Unlike her husband, she was not assassinated but that does not make her less of a hero. That she was not killed and rendered more years of service to the country makes her even more deserving," he said Sunday.

Cuenco said that Aquino's bravery and honesty make her worthy of being named a national hero.

"I will support that resolution. She deserves the honor and distinction to be one of our national heroes because of her bravery despite the great odds, her sincerity in handling her job with honesty. We should honor that and emulate that. She was a virtuous reformer and a just person," he added.

On Wednesday, Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella said he will propose a resolution supporting Congress' move to make Aquino a national hero and to declare January 25 as Cory Aquino Day. (Jovi T. De Leon/Sun.Star Baguio/With Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)