(1) The Secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment; 

(2) The Secretary of the Department of Finance; 

(3) The Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines; chan robles virtual law library

(4) The Administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration; and 

(5) One (1) representative of the overseas workers to be appointed by the President who shall receive a per diem of One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) for every OWI Fund Board meeting attended. 

(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; chan robles virtual law library

(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; 
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(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;chan robles virtual law library

(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;chan robles virtual law library

(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; chan robles virtual law library

(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. 

(1) Priority shall be given to Philippine foreign debt papers where the loan proceeds were actually utilized in projects, programs and balance of payments financing which benefited the Filipino people; chan robles virtual law library

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(2) Loans categorized by law or pronounced by the President pursuant to the recommendation of the Joint Legislative-Executive Foreign Debt Council as immoral, odious, and/or illegal shall not be subject to the debt-for-note scheme; 

(3) Foreign indebtedness which are subject to any pending litigation or repudiation shall not be subject to any debt conversion or reduction arrangements; 

(4) Only debt papers having a minimum discount rate of thirty-five percent (35%) shall be considered for debt-for-note this Act; and 

(5) Only remittances coursed through the nonfinancial entities and money couriers shall be utilized for debt conversion. Such remittances coursed through the financial institutions shall be used as loan and investment funds that will give priority to the needs and concerns of overseas workers and their families. Said loan and investment funds may also be utilized to finance the needs of small business enterprises: Provided, That the workers' funds are one hundred percent (100%) guaranteed by the Government.

(1) Four-year scholarship grant in favor of a worker of any member of his family if said worker has remitted under the OWI Fund system Ten thousand dollars (US$10,000.00) worth of PDRC with a continuous two-year period: Provided, That such grant shall conform to the set minimum academic standards of the school attended; that the grantee shall undergo six-month apprenticeship training before graduation; and that any remaining unused period of the four-year scholarship may be transferable to other qualified beneficiaries of said worker; 

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(2) Housing program for overseas workers; 

(3) Credit facility for overseas workers who may want to engage in business enterprises and/or livelihood projects: Provided, That the participating overseas workers shall be entitled to borrow up to twenty-five percent (25%) of the amount remitted at concessional interest rates to be determined, and subject to such guidelines to be promulgated, by the OWI Fund Board;

(4) Health/hospitalization insurance for the family of the workers for the duration that the worker continuously holds on to at least Two thousand dollars (US$2,000.00) worth of PDRC; 

(5) Raffles of airline tickets, appliances, and other items for all who have remitted under the OWI Fund; and 

(6) Other programs that will benefit the workers. 

(1) The Central Bank (CB) shall formulate and implement the guidelines for a special debt-for-note conversion program exclusive to the OWI Fund; 
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(2) The Philippine National Bank (PNB) and other financial institutions shall serve as remittance and redemption conduits of PDRCs and shall ensure the immediate purchase or conversion of the same, or redemption of the equivalent cash at face value upon the request of the overseas worker's beneficiary; 

(3) The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) shall assist the Fund by providing and updating the list of duly registered overseas workers and their beneficiaries;

(4) The Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA), the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) shall conduct intensive marketing and information campaigns regarding the remittance system of the OWI Fund through: 

(a) Pre-departure orientation seminars to overseas workers; 

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(b) Information desks of the coordinating agencies of the OWI Fund; 

(c) Mass media campaigns; and chan robles virtual law library

(d) Strengthening its linkages with accredited financial and other institutions. 

(1) The OWI Fund shall set aside five (5) percentage points of the discounts of the debt papers purchased as a reserve/contingency fund; 

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(2) The Office of the President may authorize the OWI Fund to draw from its Contingent Fund to complement the OWI Fund's reserve/contingency fund; and 

(3) Congress may set aside an additional contingency incentives fund to encourage workers to remit their foreign exchange through accredited channels.