MANILA BULLETIN - March 15, 2008

OFWs remit $ 1.3 billion in January

Overseas Filipinos sent home $ 1.3 billion in January, higher by 15 percent compared to the same period in 2007, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

BSP forecasts remittances to reach $ 15.7 billion this year. Fund transfers from OFWs are a major contributor to the country's balance of payments (BOP) and overall gross international reserves (GIR).

"The robust foreign exchange inflows from remittances at the start of the year could be traced in part to the acceleration in the deployment of Filipino workers," BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said.

The biggest source of OFW monies are the US, Saudi Arabia, UK, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Preliminary data obtained from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that the total number of deployed overseas workers grew year-on-year by 12.4 percent in January 2008.

Classified by type of worker, the number of deployed land-based workers grew 12.3 percent to 88,775 while that of seabased workers rose by 13.2 percent to 19,804. "Continued preference for and confidence in the professional competence and skills of Filipino manpower support the view that a high level of remittances could be sustained in the months ahead," said Tetangco.

In the meantime, the BSP said remittance flows are expected to improve this year due to banks and non-bank remittance agents' "intensified efforts to provide efficient transfer mechanisms for on-time delivery of remittances and to widen their network through the establishment of more remittance centers abroad and tie-ups with foreign financial counterparts."

"The recently concluded agreement between a local telecommunications service provider and a financial institution in Saudi Arabia is expected to further facilitate the electronic transfer of remittances," said Tetangco.

Last year OFWs remitted $ 14.45 billion, up 13.23 percent compared to 2006's full-year of $ 12.76 billion. Total remittances accounted for 10 percent of nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2007.

BSP said there are more overseas employment opportunities in construction, information technology, engineering, architecture, and hotel/restaurant service this year.