Since Lapu-Lapu is the OG national hero, being the first guy to ward off a foreign invasion in 1521, it makes perfect sense that he finally gets his own money with OG value.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in cooperation with the National Quincentennial Committee (NQC), recently launched a P5000 Lapu-Lapu Commemorative Banknote and Medal to kick off the 99-day countdown to the 500th anniversary of the “Victory at Mactan.”
The celebration of the 500th anniversary of Lapu-Lapu’s victory and the special part the Philippines played in the world’s circumnavigation are collectively referred to as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines (QCP).
On its obverse, the banknote depicts a young Lapu-Lapu, an image of the battle of Mactan, the QCP logo, and the Karaoka, the large outrigger warships used by native Filipinos.
Meanwhile, the reverse shows the Philippine eagle, or the Manaol, which symbolizes clear vision, freedom, and strength; and which embodies the ancient Visayan belief that all living creatures originated from an eagle.
Also featured are the tree of a coconut, which was food the people of Samar provided to Ferdinand Magellan and his crew; and Mount Apo, which is located in Mindanao, where the circumnavigators finally found directional clues to their intended destination of Maluku or the Spice Island.
There is one catch, though: the Lapu-Lapu bill is commemorative money, meaning it’s only for collecting, not for spending. Sayang! You would have been OG yourself if, at the inuman ng barkada, you whip out your pathetic manipis na wallet that your barkada laughs at, only to show them that you got the P5000 note ready to blow on alak!