Section 5Sec./Art. 5

The Board of Directors. -The Authority shall have a Board of Directors, which shah be the collegial policymaking body of the Authority. It shall be composed of the Chairperson, with the rank and privilege of an Undersecretary, and six (6) Members of the Board, with the rank and privilege of an Assistant Secretary, ah of whom shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines and chosen among the nominees from the cooperative sector. There shall be one (1) board of director from each of the following cluster of cooperatives:

(a) Credit and Financial Services, Banking, and Insurance;

(b) Consumers, Marketing, Producers, and Logistics;

(c) Human Services: Health, Housing, Workers, and Labor Service;

(d) Education and Advocacy;

(e) Agriculture, Agrarian, Aquaculture, Farmers, Dairy, and Fisherfolk; and

(f) Public Utilities: Electricity, Water, Communications, and Transport.

The Secretaries of the DTI and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) shall serve as ex officio Members of the Board and may designate an alternate in a permanent capacity with a rank of at least an Assistant Secretary and whose acts shall be considered as that of the principal.

As far as practicable, there shall be at least one (1) lawyer Member of the Board, and gender balance shall be observed in the membership of the Board.