Overseas Filipino remittances jumped 10.6% in August

By Doris Dumlao
Inquirer
10/15/2007

Other Most Read StoriesxClose thisMANILA, Philippines- Money sent home by overseas Filipinos through the banking system surged by 10.6 percent in August from a year ago to $1.2 billion despite the downtrend in the offshore deployment of new workers, the Philippine central bank reported Monday.

The year-on-year growth in August was faster than the 4.64-percent annual expansion in July and brought total inflows for the eight-month period to $9.3 billion, 15.3-percent better than the remittances in the same period last year. It was also the 16th straight month that overseas remittances exceeded the $1-billion mark.

When the year-on-year growth in remittances fell to a low 1.03 percent in June, there were concerns that these inflows--which had helped cushion the economy from local and foreign shocks in recent years--might be starting to taper off.

But Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the sustained growth was due to demographic trends in advanced economies, referring to the aging population that, in turn, increased the demand for skilled labor from developing countries like the Philippines.

Tetangco also cited the geographical and skill diversification of Filipinos abroad as well as the efforts of banks and remittance agents to provide overseas Filipinos, including their beneficiaries, enhanced money transfer services and easier access to financial products.

The United States, United Kingdom, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong continued to be the major sources of overseas remittances.

Remittances in the first eight months grew even as the total number of deployed Filipinos declined by 3.7 percent to 726,620 from the level a year ago.
Based on preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the total number of land- and sea-based workers stood at 560,356 and 166,264, lower by 1.6 percent and 10.2 percent from their year-ago levels.

Based on the latest POEA report, the contraction in employment of sea-based workers was due mainly to the shortfall in the supply of marine officers to fill up vacancies in foreign shipping vessels, delays in the issuance of working visas and competition from other Asian and European seafarers.