Emergency circulating notes were currency printed by the Philippine Commonwealth Government in exile during World War II. These "guerrilla pesos" were printed by local government units and banks using crude inks and materials. Due to the inferior quality of these bills, they were easily mutilated. The Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic under President José P. Laurel outlawed possession of guerrilla currency and declared a monopoly on the issuance of money and anyone found to possess guerrilla notes could be arrested or even executed. Background Prior to the impending invasion of the Philippines by the Empire of Japan and its establishment of the Japanese-sponsored Second Philippine Republic, the Philippine legislature passed an act in December 1941, enabling the production of extra Philippine peso notes for circulation as a precaution of the Philippines being cut off militarily from the United States and European countries. The notes, issued after December 29, 1941, reflected the crisis at the time, and were labeled "Emergency Circulating Notes". They were issued by the Philippine National Bank and the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. In addition to those issues, the Commonwealth government also allowed municipal and provincial authorities to issue notes denominated in centavos and pesos. When military defeat in the Philippines was inevitable, the U.S. and Philippine authorities, in an effort to prevent economic resources falling into the hands of the Imperial Japanese, dumped 425 tons of centavo and peso coins into Caballo Bay. Although the Imperial Japanese authorities attempted salvage operations by forcing prisoners of war to recover the coins, they sabotaged the operation by pocketing small amounts of individual coins and using underground networks amongst POWs and resistance forces to distribute them for use by U.S. and Filipino forces. Although the influx of smuggled specie helped to provide resistance forces with currency to use, it was nowhere near sufficient, and resistance forces used alternate sources to issue their own currency. After the Imperial Japanese forces completed their conquest of the Philippines in May 1942, all notes issued by the U.S. and Philippine administrations were outlawed, and their use carried significant risk; those found in possession of these notes would be detained, tortured and summarily executed. The notes were seized and destroyed and disappeared from circulation. Despite the conditions facing the U.S. and Filipino resistance forces, issuing circulating currency was still needed, at the same time expressing their total resistance to the Japanese-sponsored government, began