MANILA – Expansion of money sent home by overseas Filipinos in the first month this year exceeded the central bank’s full year growth target of five percent after it grew by 5.4 percent year-on-year.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday showed that remittances last January totaled to $1.56 billion, higher than year-ago’s $1.48 billion. It was, however, lower than last December’s $1.8 billion inflows.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said remittances remained resilient due to sustained demand for skilled and professional overseas Filipino workers and higher inflows from both the land-based and sea-based workers.

Citing Philippine Overseas Employment Administration data, the central bank chief said inflows from sea-based workers grew by 19.8 percent to $369 million and those from land-based workers by 1.6 percent to $.2 billion.

Bulk or 60.2 percent of land-based worker’s remittances came from the U.S., 24.4 percent; Canada, 13.1 percent; Saudi Arabia, 8.4 percent; the United Arab Emirates, 3.9 percent; Italy, 3.5 percent; Japan, 3.5 percent; and the United Kingdom, 3.4 percent.

Relatively, bulk or 14.6 percent of those from sea-based workers came from the US, Tetangco said.

The central bank chief also cited the total processed job orders as of end-February this year reached 22,688 and these are intended for manpower requirements in Saudi Arabia, 39 percent; UAE, 18.1 percent; Qatar, 10.9 percent; Taiwan, 7.4 percent; and Kuwait, seven percent.

He also noted POEA’s report about the enhancement in the recruitment systems in host countries as another growth booster for this year’s remittances.

Among these recruitment systems are the International Direct e-Recruitment System for Filipino workers in Taiwan in January 2012, and the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Labor Cooperation.

The Protocol on Regulating the Recruitment and Employment of Domestic Workers with Lebanon in February 2012 and Jordan in January 2012, and the amendment of the Korean Employment Permit System in February 2012 are also among these schemes.

Tetangco also noted the 66 percent rise to 3,147 of Filipino workers under the Korean EPS in 2011 because of amendments like the streamlining of the waiting period and exemption of workers from taking the Korean language test and training, provided that certain criteria are met.

He said banks and other financial entities continue to expand their global services through tie-ups with their counterparts overseas as well as local telecommunication companies.

“This depicts the continuing efforts of local banks and other financial institutions to cater to the diverse money transfer needs of OFWs and their beneficiaries,” he added.*PNA

back to top