| CONTACT: |
| Supreme Court of the Philippines Library Services, Padre Faura, Ermita, Manila, Philippines 1000 |
| (632) 8524-2706 |
| libraryservices.sc@judiciary.gov.ph |
(NAR) VOL. 24 NO. 1 / JANUARY - MARCH 2013
[ BSP CIRCULAR NO. 780, January 10, 2013 ]
SYRIAN POUND CURRENCY EXCHANGE FACILITY
1. OFWS and their family members who returned from Syria shall be eligible to avail of the CEF. The maximum amount of Syrian currency that may be exchanged for pesos shall be equivalent to not more than PHP10,000.00 per eligible person.
2. Syrian currency may be converted to Philippine pesos (PHP) provided that the currency is considered legal tender in Syria (i.e., has not been demonetized), even if not freely convertible with the BSP, at the time of exchange. In determining whether the Syrian currency has been demonetized and should no longer be accepted for exchange, the BSP Head Office, Regional Offices/Branches and authorized agent banks (AABs)a shall be guided by the latest official information available from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) at the time of exchange.
3. In converting Syrian pound (SYP) to PHP, the BSP Head Office and its Regional Offices/Branches, as well as AABs shall use as reference rate the latest available rate at the time of exchange as indicated in the BSP Reference Exchange Rate Bulletin. The BSP’s purchase of the SYP acquired by AABs under the CEF shall be at the same rate at which the AABs purchased the SYP.
4. The facility shall be open to those who have returned from Syria from 01 January 2012 and shall be available for a period of four (4) months reckoned from the effectivity date of this Circular.
5. Documentary requirements
a. | Exchange by the persons concerned | |||
i. | Original passport stamped with an exit visa by the Syrian immigration and Passport Directorate; or | |||
ii. | Original travel document issued by the Philippine Embassy in Damascus stamped with an exit visa by the Syrian Immigration and Passport Directorate. | |||
b. | Exchange through an authorized representative | |||
i. | Circumstances under which exchange may be done through a representative are limited to the following | |||
(a) | Physical incapacity of the eligible person/s to personally do the exchange due to illness or physical disability; and | |||
(b) | Death of the eligible person/s. | |||
ii. | Authorized representative. Anyone of the following legally capacitated relatives of the eligible person/s may be an authorized representative: | |||
(a) | Legal Spouse | |||
(b) | Child | |||
(c) | Parent | |||
(d) | Brother/Sister | |||
iii. | Documentary requirements. The authorized representative shall submit the following documents before the currency exchange: | |||
(a) | The documents specified under item 5.a; | |||
(b) | An original letter of authority signed by the OFW/family member/s indicating the following: | |||
(i) | Name/s of OFW/family member/s and representative; | |||
(ii) | Relationship of representative to OFW/family member/s; and | |||
(iii) | Reason/s for appointing a representative with medical certificate. | |||
(c) | For deceased returnee, the authorized representative shall submit the following documents: | |||
(i) | The documents specified under item 5.a; | |||
(ii) | Letter from the representative indicating the name/s of OFW/family member/s and representative and circumstance/s of the OFW/family member's death; | |||
(iii) | Proof of filiation; | |||
(iv) | Copy of death certificate (issued in the Philippines) or report of death (issued abroad) for deceased returnees; and | |||
(v) | Proof of identity of authorized representative, as mentioned in item 5.b.(iii).d. | |||
(d) | Proof of identity of authorized representative: | |||
(i) | Authorized representatives shall be required to present the original and submit a Clear copy of at least one (1) valid photo-bearing ID document issued by an official authority. For this purpose, the term official authority shall refer to any of the following: | |||
(1) | Government of the Republic of the Philippines; | |||
(2) | Its political subdivisions and instrumentalities; | |||
(3) | Government owned and controlled corporations (GOCC); and | |||
(4) | Private entities or institutions registered with or supervised or regulated either by the BSP, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or Insurance Commission (IC). | |||
Valid IDs include the following: | ||||
(1) | Passport, including those issued by foreign governments | |||
(2) | Driver’s license | |||
(3) | Professional Regulation Commission ID | |||
(4) | NBI clearance | |||
(5) | Police clearance | |||
(6) | Postal ID | |||
(7) | Voter’s ID | |||
(8) | Tax Identification Number | |||
(9) | Barangay Certification | |||
(10) | GSIS eCard | |||
(11) | SSS card | |||
(12) | Senior citizen card | |||
(13) | Overseas Workers Welfare Administration ID | |||
(14) | OFW ID | |||
(15) | Seaman’s book | |||
(16) | Alien Certification of Registration/Immigrant Certificate of Registration | |||
(17) | Government offices and GOCCs (e.g., Armed Forces of the Philippines, Home Development Mutual Fund) IDS | |||
(18) | Certification from National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons | |||
(19) | DWSD Certification | |||
(20) | Company IDs issued by private entities or institutions registered with or supervised or regulated either by the BSP, SEC or IC. | |||
(ii) | Where the authorized representative is a non-Philippine resident, similar IDs duly issued by the foreign government where he/she is a resident or a citizen may be presented. | |||
(e) | Other additional documentary proof/s, as may be required by the BSP/AABs. | |||
6. Accomplishment of CEF Conversion Slip (In English and Filipino) (Attachment 1 or 2)
Each OFW/family member (personally or through an authorized representative) shall fill-up the prescribed CEF Conversion Slip for the currency exchange, and present the required documents. The serial numbers and denominations of the SYP to be exchanged should also be indicated at the back of the Conversion Slip.
7. Proof of exchange
The BSP Head Office, Regional Offices/Branches and AABs shall stamp the following on the original passport or travel document of each person who availed of the exchange using at least font size “14”:
CEF served on:
Date: _______________________________________
Amount of FX: ________________________________
Amount of PHP: _______________________________
Bank name/branch: ____________________________
Name and signature of Bank Officer: _______________For those with original passports, stamping shall be made on the “Iimitations” page (page 3) of the passport.
8. AABs, particularly those with branch offices at Philippine international airports (including the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1, 2, and 3, Clark, Subic, Laoag, Cebu, Davao and Zamboanga) and Seaports, shall extend their banking hours as needed, to accommodate those who wish to avail of the facility.
9. AABs shall advise their branches on the activation and implementation of the CEF not later than one (1) banking day following the BSP's issuance of the guidelines for public information.
10. All bank branch offices located at airports/Seaports shall post signage(s)/public advisory(ies) in English and Filipino about the CEF program in conspicuous places, preferably before the baggage carousel and customs desk. The signage/advisory should not be smaller than 24 inches in width and 18 inches in height, with the notice printed in font size of at least “85”, with all letters in bold.
11. AABs are reminded to comply with the provisions of Republic Act No. 9160, otherwise known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended, particularly on the requirements for customer identification and due diligence, record-keeping and reporting of covered and suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
12. Bearing in mind the objective of the CEF program to provide assistance to returning OFWs, AABs are enjoined not to collect any kind of service fee from those availing of the program.
13. AABs shall submit to BSP - Cash Department (BSP-CD, Head Office) the Consolidated Summary of Purchases (Attachment 3) under the CEF, together with copies of the filled-up Conversion Slips (Attachment 1 or 2) for each transaction within one (1) banking day from the end of reference week.
14. The currency purchased by AABs under the CEF shall be surrendered to the BSP - CD (Head Office or Regional Branches/Offices) within 10 banking days from purchase by the AABs.
15. The currency purchased by AABs under the CEF shall not be included in the computation of the foreign exchange position of said banks.
16. AABs found violating this Circular shall be subject to the sanctions provided under Section 37 of Republic Act No. 7653.
Effectivity. This Circular shall take effect 15 days after publication.
FOR THE MONETARY BOARD:
(SGD) AMANDO M. TETANGCO, JR.
Governor
a AABs refer to all categories of banks duly licensed by the BSP [except Offshore Banking Units (OBUs)]. It is understood that each category of bank should function within the operational parameters defined by existing laws/regulations for the specific bank category to which they respectively belong.