Perlas ng Silangan - culture. history. identity

Hi everyone!

Before anything else, let me first introduce myself. My name is Jairene Cruz-Eusebio. I am a wife to a loving husband named Ferdie, and a mother to a lovable kid named Himig.

I love the Philippines! Before I got married, we have traveled to many places in the country. Not only did we discover the picturesque parts of the country, but we were also able to glimpse a little of the culture and history of the places we visited.

You may have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of Philippine travel blogs. This is not going to be one of those. This is going to be a website about discovering our culture, learning more about our history, and digging deeper into what being a Filipino actually means.

I am by no means an expert in culture, history and language. I learn as I go, and I will share with you those learnings as I see fit. If you think there are some information that needs to be corrected, I am always open to listen. But please back it up with proof so we can have a fruitful conversation.

Why am I writing this blog in English? I once heard a writer say, “write in the language you are most comfortable with”. So that’s what I’ll be doing. And also, so that people from other countries who are interested in learning more about the Philippines would be able to understand it as well.

If you are looking for something written in Filipino, we have our sister-website SulatKamay.com, which features fictional work written in the vernacular. For fictional work written in English, we also have ACosmicEncounter.com. But those websites are for fiction. Here in PerlasNgSilangan, we will focus more on the facts.

I consider this a journey for self-discover. We believe that in order for us to find our identity, it is necessary to look back on our history, culture and heritage. These three molded us into who we are today.

So without further ado,

Welcome to Perlas ng Silangan!

[sgmb id="1"]Museums are great venues to understand more about the history and culture of a certain place. If you want to understand the Philippines’ monetary system and trade structures way before our Spanish colonizers arrived in the country up until today, what better place to visit than the Money Museum of the Central Bank of the Philippines (Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas)?

The Money Museum Location and Open Hours

The museum is comfortably located inside the compound of the country’s primary monetary authority, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. The compound is located at the corner of A. Mabini and P. Ocampo Streets, in Malate, Manila. The Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is different from the museum located right next to the BSP compound, named Metropolitan Museum of the Philippines (we'll visit this one on a different day!).

The Money Museum is open from Mondays to Fridays, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, with a one hour lunch break from 12 noon to 1:00 pm. Anyone can come in and visit the museum, free of charge. However, the security is strict (what do you expect, it’s the Central Bank after all). You would need to bring a valid government ID before you are allowed inside. Proper attire must also be observed. No sleeveless and short skirts for women. No sleeveless or sando and shorts for men. You must be wearing closed shoes.

At the front gate, you will be required to present your ID, write your name and other pertinent details in a piece of paper, and you must state the purpose of your visit. You can just tell them you are there to visit the museum inside. You will be given an access pass that you can only use for the museum doors. You will not be allowed to visit other areas of the compound, so don’t even try.

Museo ng Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tour

Once inside the museum, you will be asked to watch a video presentation of what the museum is all about. Here is a description of the museum based on their brochure:

As repository and custodian of the country’s numismatic heritage, the Museo collects, studies and preserves coins, paper notes, medals, artifacts and other monetary items to show the nation’s rich legacy.

The Museo is designed to walk the visitor through the different periods of the country’s history. Each gallery is dedicated to a specific period and the evolution of the Philippine currency is traced alongside the development of the economy.

Exciting Finds

The museum has an extensive collection of monetary units used during the pre-colonial times, during the Spanish, American and Japanese periods, up until today. Before the arrival of the Portuguese Magellan, early Filipinos trade and barter using various products as currency. Rice, precious metals and even tea were used as currency. In fact, the word salapi, which currently means money or paper tender, is actually a word used to refer to bundles of freshly harvested rice.

As for precious metals being used for trade, these metals were formed not only into jewelry, but also into animals and other items! There were crocodile money, rooster money, knife money and cannon money.

Through the museum, I found out that there even was some rebel-created money, called the Resistance Currency, circulated during the Japanese occupation. It was one of the ways of the rebels and of the locals to defy the Japanese government. There was a different resistance currency for every province that opposed the Japanese government.

We were also astonished to find the biggest paper bill produced in the country: the ₱100,00 note. The size is 8.5 x 14 inches, the biggest legal tender note produced by our very own Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Only 1,000 pieces were produced.

The museum also houses various Philipine medals that commemorate important events in the country, mainly the anniversary of independence. Other medals during the Spanish and American occupation are also on display.

If you ever visit the Money Museum, let us know what you think!

In the mean time, check our photos below for a preview of the Money Museum.