Remittances seen up by 3% in 2009

THE BANGKO SENTRAL NG Pilipinas expects remittances to grow by more than 3 percent this year.

Under the BSP’s original forecast, remittances was supposed to register a flat growth this year from last year’s $16.4 billion.

But due to developments in the labor market worldwide, the country may now expect remittances to be higher than first anticipated, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said.

“We are currently revising our forecast for the growth rate of remittances. As I said before … the forecast of zero growth is … very conservative. Based on the latest information, it is possible that the growth rate can exceed 3 percent,” Tetangco said.

The BSP is expected to announce its revised official forecast on remittances in October.

In July, money sent in by Filipinos based abroad reached $1.49 billion, marking a 9-percent growth from that in the same month last year. This brought the cumulative amount of remittances for the first seven months of the year to $9.97 billion, up 3.8 percent from that in the same period a year ago.

More Filipinos are still being deployed abroad, greatly outnumbering those who have lost their jobs due to the economic crisis. This development has led to a higher growth in remittances.

Officials also said demand from alternative labor markets—those that are less affected by the global turmoil—had also contributed to the increase in the money sent in by Filipinos overseas.

Agreements forged by Philippine government officials with their counterparts abroad had also helped in boosting remittances.

These deals could also result in the deployment of more Filipinos abroad, officials added.

A closely watched economic indicator, remittances help fuel household consumption, which is a key driver of the country’s growth. An estimated 10 percent of Filipino households are partly or fully dependent on money sent by relatives working abroad. Michelle V. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer