On Nov. 30, Andres Bonifacio Day, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Officers Club and the BSP Employees Association will lay down a 70-km line of 25-centavo coins in the open space fronting the Manila Grandstand in Manila's Rival Park.
The feat — "Maharaja Ado - Barry ng mega Banyan: The Power of Small Change Campaign" — is in cooperation with the KaBayanihan Foundation.
The Guinness World Record on the longest line of coins currently at 64.8 kms is held by the US.
The organizers intend to raise at least 3.5 million pieces of 25-centavo coins to cover at least 70 kilometers to break the existing US record, said BSP Officers' Club president Dr. Greg Suarez II said in a press conference.
Suarez said 1 km is equivalent to ₱12,500 worth of 25-centavo coins.
"The present world record holder is USA who laid the longest line of coins of 64.8 kilometers. The project seeks to break this record by reaching at least 70 kilometers or even up to 100 kilometers using 25 centavo coins to be carefully laid over at least 6,000 square meters of space fronting the Manila Grandstand," he stressed.
At least 1,200 Kabayanihan volunteers will take turns in shifts to lay the coins one after another starting at 2 p.m. on Nov. 30 to 8 a.m., Dec. 1.
The project aims to unify Filipinos through the "bayanihan" concept and to unleash the power of small change by enlisting and involving as many Filipinos as possible to do small acts of heroism in the collection and donation of barya as their contribution to nation building, Suarez noted.
To address classroom shortage
It also aims to address the country's acute shortage of public classroom using the small coins collected and donated for the world record-breaking attempt, Suarez said.
"This is a manifestation of the rising spirit of Filipinos wanting to beat the best in the world," said Kabayanihan Foundation chairman emeritus Alex Lacson.
The organizers have already exceeded 70 kms in terms of commitments from sponsors and with more Filipino families expected to join the project and generate more funds for building more classrooms in the country, Lacson noted.
"In addition to creating a world history, this project will also raise funds for the building of classrooms for public elementary schools and will promote the importance of coin recirculation," Lacson explained.
From the proceeds of the 75 kms of 25-centavo coins, three classrooms could be constructed.
The organizers expect the coins to come from Metro Manila and Luzon, contributed by partners — schools, companies, media, local government units, cooperatives and non-government organizations (NGOs), communities — and Filipinos willing to contribute at least a single 25-centavo coin.
According to the Bangko Sentral, video game and karaoke machines, vending machines, church contributions, and jueteng numbers game are the main causes of coin shortage in the country.
It said only 10 percent of 18.9 billion pieces of coins in circulation are being recirculated in the financial system.
There are 18.9 billion pieces of coins (₱10, P5, P1, 25 centavos, 10 centavos, 5 centavos ) worth ₱18.9 billion in circulation, or 198 coins for each Filipino, according to BSP data.
As of May 31, currency in circulation consisted of 1.959 billion pieces of banknotes worth ₱520.739 billion and 16.796 billion pieces of coins worth ₱18.678 billion, BSP data showed.
