Remittances up 6% in Feb

MANILA, Philippines – Remittances continued to rise in February amid sustained demand for Filipinos abroad, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said yesterday.

Personal remittances – consisting of cash and non-cash – went up six percent to $1.994 billion in February, bringing the two-month figure to $3.996 billion.

“Personal remittances continued to draw strength from the steady rise in transfers from land-based workers with long-term contracts, and sea-based and land-based workers with short-term contracts,” the central bank said.

Cash remittances alone grew 5.6 percent to $1.796 billion in February, putting the two-month total at $3.595 billion.

The BSP said cash transfers from land-based workers rose 4.3 percent to $2.7 billion, while money sent home by sea-based workers jumped 10.3 percent to $903 million.

These remittances were primarily sent from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan and Canada.

“The continued demand for skilled overseas Filipino workers contributed partly to the steady flow of remittances,” the central bank said.

The BSP, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, said there were 75,064 approved job orders in the first two months of the year.

Bulk of these job orders were for manpower demand for service, production, and professional, technical and related job categories in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Kuwait, and Qatar, the BSP added.

“Reports from the Department of Labor and Employment showed that the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania remain possible employment options for overseas Filipino workers,” the central bank stressed.

At the same time, expansion of bank and non-bank remittance service providers abroad supported the growth in overseas Filipinos’ remittances.

Last year, cash remittances surged 7.4 percent to $22.968 billion, the highest ever recorded by the central bank. Personal remittances, meanwhile, grew 8.6 percent to $25.351 billion.

The BSP hopes to grow cash remittances by five percent this year from the 2013 figure. –Kathleen A. Martin (The Philippine Star)