(Noong 2023) OFW REMITTANCES RECORD HIGH SA $37.2-B

PUMALO ang personal remittances mula sa mga Pilipino sa ibang bansa sa all-time high noong nakaraang taon sa likod ng pagtaas ng deployment ng overseas workers, ayon sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Sa datos ng BSP ay lumitaw na ang personal remittances mula sa overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) ay nagkakahalaga ng  USD37.2 billion, tumaas ng 3 percent mula sa USD36.1 billion noong 2022.

The robust inward remittances reflected the rise in the deployment of OFWs due to the continuous increase in demand for foreign workers in host countries,” ayon sa BSP.

Sinabi ng BSP na ang full-year 2023 remittances ay bumubuo sa 8.5 percent at 7.7 percent ng gross domestic product at gross national income ng bansa, ayon sa pagkakasunod.

Samantala, ang cash remittances o perang ipinadala sa pamamagitan ng mga bangko o formal channels ay nasa $3.280 billion noong Disyembre, mas mataas sa  $2.719 billion noong Nobyembre, at tumaas ng 3.8% mula  $3.159 billion sa kaparehong buwan noong 2022.

The growth in cash remittances in December 2023 was primarily due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” paliwanag ng central bank.

Ang cash remittances mula sa land-based workers para sa buwan ay nagtala ng 4.0% year-on-year growth sa $2.6 billion, habang ang nagmula sa sea-based workers ay tumaas ng 3.2% sa $0.7 billion.

Ang United States ang pinakamalaking pinagmulan ng remittances para sa taon na may 40.9%, kasunod ang Singapore na may 7.1%, Saudi Arabia na may  6.2%, Japan na may 5.0%, at United Kingdom na may 4.7%.

Ang United Arab Emirates ay may 4.3%;  Canada, 3.6%;  Qatar, 2.8%; Taiwan, 2.7%;  South Korea, 2.5%; at iba pang mga bansa na may 20.3%.

Year-to-date, ang cash remittances ay naitala sa $33.491 billion, tumaas ng 2.9% mula $32.539 billion noong 2022.

Sinabi ni Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort na ang Philippine remittances mula sa overseas workers ay laging fourth largest sa mundo kasunod ng India, Mexico at  China.

Aniya, ito ay “sign of resilience and has always been a major growth driver for the Philippine economy for many years.”

It is important to note that OFW remittances and conversion to pesos seasonally increased in the fourth quarter especially, during the Christmas holiday season towards the end of the year, especially within a week before Christmas to finance the surge, if not the peak, in holiday-related spending, a consistent pattern seen for many years and could seasonally support the peso exchange rate as well,” aniya.