If you’re already reading into this, you must have already gone far into the planning stage of your trip to the Philippines. Read this article to get familiar with our local bank notes and coins.
The Philippine Peso (PHP)
Although now a sovereign nation, the Philippines still uses the word peso to refer to its national currency, which is a legacy of being a former Spanish colony. Peso means “weight” in Spanish. Think about it like how the UK calls their currency the British Pound.
In the Filipino language, this is more commonly referred to by the locals as piso. The word piso can refer to one of three things:
- the country’s legal tender, in general;
- the exact amount of “one peso”; and
- a currency counter, e.g. PHP 100 = 100 piso, PHP 200 = 200 piso, but NEVER PHP 1 = 1 piso (it’s simply “piso”).
One peso can be subdivided into one hundred centavos or sentimos.
Denominations
Bills
There are currently six (6) paper bills in wide circulation in the Philippines (not counting commemorative paper bills). Even if you can’t read numbers (but you probably can since you can read this blog), each bill can be easily distinguished from each other because they each have different colors (I don’t know how this pans out for color blind people, please leave a comment if you have an idea about this).
There are also six (6) coins in wide circulation (excluding commemorative coins) in the Philippines. Unfortunately, some consider two (2) of them to be of little or no value and hence, not too desirabe to have.
PHP 20 (Bente)
- Color: Orange
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.40, CNY 2.75, JPY 45
- Locals can refer to this at “bente” /bEhn-tEh/, from the Spanish word vente, meaning “twenty”
PHP 50 (Singkwenta)
- Color: Red
- Approximately equivalent to USD 2, CNY 14, JPY 110
- Locals can refer to this at “singkwenta” /sing-kwEn-tah/, from the Spanish word cinquenta, meaning “fifty”
PHP 100 (Isang Daan)
- Color: Purple
- Approximately equivalent to USD 1, CNY 7, JPY 225
- Locals can refer to this at “isang daan” /ee-sang-dah-ahn/, Filipino words meaning “one hundred”, isa* referring to “one” and daan being a counter meaning “hundred”
PHP 200 (Dalawang Daan)
- Color: Bright Green
- Approximately equivalent to USD 4, CNY 14, JPY 450
- Locals can refer to this at “dalawang daan” /dah-lah-wang-dah-ahn/, Filipino words meaning “two hundred”, dalawa* referring to “two” and daan being a counter meaning “hundred”
PHP 500 (Limang Daan)
- Color: Yellow
- Approximately equivalent to USD 10, CNY 70, JPY 2250
- Locals can refer to this at “limang daan” /lee-mang-dah-ahn/, Filipino words meaning “two hundred”, lima* referring to “five” and daan being a counter meaning “hundred”
PHP 1000 (Isang Libo)
- Color: Blue
- Approximately equivalent to USD 20, CNY 140, JPY 4500
- Locals can refer to this at “isang libo” /ee-sang-lee-boh/, Filipino words meaning “one thousand”, isa* referring to “one” and libo being a counter meaning “thousand”
*To be grammatical in Filipino, the suffix “-ng” is added to numbers ending in vowels if they are followed by a counting word (e.g. daan/hundred, libo/thousand, piraso/piece(s)). If a number that ends with a consonant is followed by a counting word, the word “na” is placed between the number and the counting word (e.g. 400 = apat na daan, 4 pieces = apat na piraso).
Coins
There are currently six (6) coins in wide circulation in the Philippines.
PHP 0.01 / 1 sentimo
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.0002, CNY 0.001, or JPY 0.02
- Pretty much not used by majority of people and little to no value in the streets.
- Mostly used when transacting with large shopping malls or banks.
PHP 0.05 (Singko) / 5 sentimos
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.001, CNY 0.007, or JPY 0.10
- Can be locally referred to as “singko” /sing-kOh/, from the Spanish word cinco meaning “five”
- Pretty much not used by majority of people and little to no value in the streets.
- Mostly used when transacting with large shopping malls or banks.
PHP 0.25 (Bente-singko, bentyingko) / 25 centavos / 25 sentimos
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.005, CNY 0.035, or JPY 0.50
- Can be locally referred to at “bentyingko” /bEn-ching-kOh/, from the Spanish word veinticinco meaning “twenty-five”
- Commonly in use
PHP 1 (Piso)
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.02, CNY 0.15, or JPY 2.15
- Locally referred to as “piso” /pee-sOh/
- Commonly in use
PHP 5 (Lima)
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.10, CNY 1.40, or JPY 21.50
- Locally referred to as “limang piso” /lee-mang-pee-sOh/, sometimes just “lima” /lee-mah/, the Filipino word for “five”
- Commonly in use
PHP 10 (Sampu)
- Approximately equivalent to USD 0.20, CNY 2.80, or JPY 45
- Locally referred to as “sampung piso” /sam-poong-pee-sOh/, sometimes just “sampu” /sam-pooh/, the Filipino word for “ten”
- Commonly in use
In Closing
I hope this quick guide has been handy for you. If you have questions or seek clarifications, or just have anything you want to say, please leave a comment below.
Definitive Philippines 
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