Authorities from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and local police arrested five individuals accused of making jewelry rings from P10 coins in Paliton Beach, San Juan, Siquijor, on Monday, January 6.
The P10 coin, composed of an aluminum bronze inner core and a copper-nickel outer core, was being transformed into rings sold for P1,500 each, BSP was quoted as saying by ABS-CBN News.
“We conducted several test buy operations and confirmed that these individuals were offering the rings, especially to foreigners,” said Mark Fajardo, senior investigation officer of the BSP-Payments and Currency Investigation Group.
The group reportedly completes a ring in just 40 minutes and can produce 20 to 30 rings daily, earning up to ₱50,000 per day. The suspects are not local residents, according to the BSP.
The suspects face charges under Presidential Decree 247, which prohibits the destruction of legal tender coins. “In the Philippines, this is prohibited since the coins are property of the Republic of the Philippines. We should protect them because producing coins is costly,” Fajardo added.
The suspects are now in the custody of the San Juan Municipal Police Station in Siquijor.
