Section 5August 22, 1991, Sec./Art. 5

Powers/Functions of the OWI Fund Board. – The OWI Fund Board shall have the following powers and functions:

(1) To encourage the greater participation of Filipino overseas workers in official remittance schemes by way of:

(a) Assuring the prompt and safe delivery of such remittances to the workers' beneficiaries by processing these within forty-eight (48) hours at the most and by maintaining a reliable express communication and delivery systems;

(b) Developing a network/consortium of commercial banks to maximize the use of their resources in serving the remittance and other transaction needs of the overseas workers;

(c) Adopting an appropriate technology or system which will expedite the delivery of participatory debt reduction certificates (PDRCs) to the beneficiaries;

(d) Providing for reasonable charges and fees for the remittance services of participating financial institutions, agents, courier services, etc.; and

(e) Enlisting the support of various government agencies in information and marketing campaigns concerning its remittance services and other programs, and enhancing their capability through financial and other kinds of support;

(2) To accredit, in conjunction with the Central Bank, domestic as well as foreign financial and other institutions, money couriers, and communication organizations and delivery services, etc. as official foreign exchange remittance centers/collection agents or official couriers;

(3) To issue special receipts through accredited financial institutions or certified couriers abroad as evidence of Government's guarantee for the workers' foreign exchange remittances;

(4) To pool the remittances of overseas workers coursed through accredited money couriers and other informal channels to be used in debt-for-note arrangements, including leveraged debt paper purchases, and to participate in international secondary financial markets by purchasing Philippine debt papers within the limits set forth in Section 6 hereof;

(5) To forward purchased debt papers to the Central Bank and/or any other concerned original borrowing agency/obligor in exchange for their agreement to back up and/or underwrite specific issues of negotiable certificates to be known as the participatory debt reduction certificates (PDRCs). The OWI Fund Board may decide to share with the original obligors up to forty percent (40%) of the discounts gained on debt papers: provided, that this does not undermine the viability of the OWI Fund remittance/investment program in the long run. Likewise, the OWI Fund Board may decide to reduce the interest rates on the remaining portions (net of discount sharing with the original obligors) of the loans purchased;

(6) To pool the peso equivalent of remittances of overseas workers coursed through the banking system, establishing therewith a peso loan and investment fund, which may be entrusted to a particular bank for purposes of lending and/or investing, especially into productive concerns of overseas workers and their families, small business entities, etc.;

(7) To issue PDRCs to the workers' beneficiaries through accredited local financial institutions, money couriers, and communication and delivery services acting as official couriers;

(8) To accept and administer trust funds which shall then be guaranteed by the Republic of the Philippines;

(9) To ensure that the workers shall remit only a maximum amount equal to the average earnings of their occupational group in their host countries;

(10) To adopt measures and/or penalties to ensure the integrity of the OWI Fund remittance system and investment funds;

(11) To cause the conduct of periodic surveys about the condition of workers and workers' remittances;

(12) To ensure that the debt conversions that will be undertaken shall abide by the special guidelines of the Central Bank on debt redemption to be issued for purposes of this Act;

(13) To administer the funds and other property under its custody with the skill, care, prudence, and diligence of a prudent man engaged in similar business affairs and with objectives similar to those of the trust in question; and

(14) To adopt, amend or change its bylaws; to adopt, alter, or use a seal; to enter into contracts; to sue and be sued; and to exercise the general powers of a corporation.