5 Pesos Emergency Script of the Philippines

Apayao was among the most remote sub-provinces in the Cordillera region of northern Luzon, and its wartime emergency currency reflects exactly that isolation. When the Japanese occupation cut off the Philippine Commonwealth's normal banking functions in 1942–43, provincial and sub-provincial governments across Luzon were authorized to issue their own emergency notes to keep local economies functioning. Apayao's series is among the scarcer of these issues — the sub-province had a tiny population and limited administrative infrastructure, meaning print runs were small and survival rates are low.

The guerrilla-backed Philippine government explicitly sanctioned these issues, and notes were later honored for redemption, though not all holders managed to claim that redemption before deadlines passed.