200 Piso Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas

Issued to mark the 400th anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas, founded in Manila in 1611 by Bishop Miguel de Benavides with a personal donation of his own library and 1,500 pesos. That origin story — a private bequest rather than a colonial state initiative — is what the UST has always emphasized in its claim to being the oldest existing university in Asia, a designation that remains contested by institutions in Indonesia and elsewhere.

The BSP's commemorative 200 Piso program has been running since the 1990s, producing polymer and paper variants for various anniversaries. This paper issue, printed at the Security Plant Complex, carried only a watermark as its primary security feature — modest by the standards of the series.