HIGHER REMITTANCES. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Monday (July 15, 2024) said remittances from overseas Filipinos reached USD14.89 billion in January to May this year. The amount is higher by 3 percent from the USD14.46 billion in the same period last year. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) went up by 3.7 percent in May this year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
Data released by the BSP on Monday showed that personal remittances from OFs during the month rose to USD2.88 billion from USD2.78 billion in May 2023.
The BSP attributed the increase to higher remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.
Personal remittances cover cash sent through banks and informal channels and also remittances in kind.
The BSP said cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to USD2.58 billion in May 2024, up by 3.6 percent than the USD2.49 billion recorded in May 2023.
"The expansion in cash remittances in May 2024 was due to growth in receipts from both land- and sea-based workers," it said.
For the first five months of the year, personal remittances amounted to USD14.89 billion, higher by 3 percent than year-ago’s USD14.46 billion.
Of the total, cash remittances amounted to USD13.37 billion, up by 3 percent from the USD12.98 billion registered in the same period last year.
The United States was the biggest source of remittances, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Sought for comment, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said the continued growth in remittances is a "good signal for the overall economy."
"The Philippine remittances from overseas workers have consistently been the fourth largest in the world after India, Mexico, and China, amounting to more than USD40 billion per year -- a sign of resilience and has always been a growth driver for the Philippine economy for many years," he said.
For the coming months, Ricafort forecasts the modest growth in remittances to continue due to the further reopening of the economy.
He added that since overseas Filipino workers families still need to cope up with relatively higher prices, this would also require the sending of more remittances. (PNA)
