OFW inflows hit record high in June

MANILA, Philippines – Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) hit a new monthly record level of $1.737 billion in June despite the political tensions in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, the “Saudization” program of the government of Saudi Arabia as well as the debt crisis in Europe.

BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said in a statement that remittances from OFWs grew seven percent to $1.737 billion in June from $1.623 billion a year ago after the amount of money sent home by sea-based workers jumped 15 percent while that of land-based workers climbed 4.2 percent.

“In particular, remittances for the month of June registered a record high of $1.737 billion, representing an increase of seven percent from the level posted in the same month last year,” Tetangco added.

For the first half of the year, he reported that remittances climbed 6.3 percent to $9.635 billion from $9.062 billion recorded in the first half of last year.

He explained that the biggest sources of remittances from January to June this year included the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Germany.

“The sustained demand for Filipino workers as well as the diversity of their skills and destinations contributed to the resilience of remittance flows even with the lingering uncertainties on the MENA region’s political situation and the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis,” Tetangco said.

Data showed that the total approved job orders of the state-run Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reached 386,559 in the first seven months of the year of which 35.2 percent has been processed for Saudi Arabia, UAE, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Hong Kong while 250,489 are still being filled up.

Likewise, POEA said the number of processed contracts for land-based workers jumped 23.4 percent to 262,562 in the first half of the year while contracts of sea-based workers climbed 6.3 percent to 240,771.

Furthermore, the agency reported that its government placement branch is set to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Philippines and Taiwan for Taiwan-based employers to directly hire Filipino workers while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is exploring job opportunities in the rubber and palm plantations in Malaysia.

The BSP chief also cited the continuing efforts to improve on the variety and coverage of the global remittance networks enabling more overseas Filipinos to send remittances using more innovative financial services offered in the market including web-based service, automated teller machines (ATMs) as well as reloadable or reusable money or cash cards.

“Increased capture of money transfers has also been made possible with the expanded offering of financial products and services to overseas Filipinos by banks and other financial institutions that have established more tie-ups with foreign service providers,” the BSP chief said.

OFW remittances grew by 8.2 percent to a record level $18.76 billion last year from $17.35 billion in 2009 due to the continued demand for skilled Filipino workers abroad as well as the expansion of remittance centers abroad giving OFWs more options to send money to their loved ones in the Philippines.

Last April, the BSP lowered its OFW remittance growth forecast to seven percent or $20.1 billion instead of the original target of 8.0 percent or $20.2 billion this year due to the tensions in the MENA region and the disasters in Japan. –Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star)