Remittances expected to stay on growth path

MANILA, Philippines—Remittances sent to the Philippines by migrant Filipinos are expected to still grow this year despite mounting fiscal and economic problems confronting the United States and eurozone economies.

According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the troubles in industrialized countries could indeed have dampening effects on remittances, but added that growing demand for workers in alternative labor markets would likely offset any adverse effects.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said that based on past trends, remittances continue to grow even during times of great global economic difficulties.

“In the past, we saw how Filipino workers would find alternative employment even in the midst of war in 1991 and even the most recent global turmoil,” he said.

Labor officials say the sustained rise in remittances even during crisis was partly due to the fact that Filipinos are preferred by employers abroad, thus they tend to be the last to go during job cuts.

Guinigundo said the ability of some overseas Filipino workers to keep their jobs or find replacement jobs in alternative labor markets abroad substantiates the BSP’s still positive outlook on remittances.

The latest report from the BSP showed that remittances to the Philippines amounted to $1.7 billion in July, rising by 6.1 percent from $1.62 billion in the same month last year.

This brought the cumulative remittances for the first seven months of the year to $11.35 billion, rising by 6.3 percent from $10.68 billion in the same period a year ago.—Michelle V. Remo, Philippine Daily Inquirer