Wrong Flag, Filipino Complains

MANILA — The governor of the Philippine central bank thinks it was a mistake to print the U.S. flag prominently on the new 100-peso note, the newspaper Malaya reported Sunday.

“The artist made a mistake in giving undue prominence to the American flag,” Gov. Jose Fernandez was quoted as having said.

But Fernandez was reported as also saying that the new bill will probably remain in circulation to prevent a shortage of the notes, which are worth about $5.

The engraving was supposed to show the American flag being lowered and the Philippine flag raised at the moment of independence from the United States in 1946, bank officials said. However, the U.S. flag is more prominent.

Sen. Wigberto Tanada has demanded that the bill be removed from circulation because the design “gives the impression that the Philippines still regards itself as a colony of the United States.”