PADALA NG OFWs ALL-TIME HIGH

PUMALO sa all-time high na $2.849 billion ang cash remittances ng overseas ­Filipinos noong December 2018, mas mataas ng 3.9 percent mula sa $2.741 billion year-on-year, ayon sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Para sa buong taon, ang cash remittances ay tumaas ng 3.1 percent sa $28.9 billion.

Ayon sa central bank,  malaking bahagi ng cash remittances para sa taon ay nagmula sa United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Germany, at Hong Kong.

“Cash remittances in 2018 remained strong amid political uncertainties across the globe,” sabi ng BSP.

Ang personal remittances mula sa OFWs ay nagtala rin ng bagong record high na $3.157 billion noong Disyembre, mas mataas ng 3.6 percent kumpara sa $3.046 billion sa kahalintulad na buwan noong nakaraang taon.

Sa datos ng central bank, ang personal remittances para sa buong taon ay tumaas ng 3.0 percent sa $32.213 billion noong 2018 mula sa $31.288 billion noong 2017.

Ayon kay BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla, Jr., ito ang pinakamataas na annual level sa kasalukuyan.

“The growth in personal remittances during the year was driven by remittance inflows from land-based overseas Filipinos (OFs) with work contracts of one year or more and remittances from both sea-based and land-based OFs with work contracts of less than one year, which rose annually by 2.8 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively,” aniya.

“Personal remittances are a major driver of domestic consumption and, in 2018, it accounted for 9.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and 8.1 percent of the gross national income (GNI),” dagdag pa ni Espenilla.