Cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose 2.6 percent to a two-month high of $2.91 billion in September 2023 from $2.84 billion a year ago, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed Wednesday.
“The growth in cash remittances in September 2023 was due to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.
This brought total cash remittances in the first nine months to $24.49 billion, a 2.8-percent increase from $23.83 billion received in the same period last year.
“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first three quarters of 2023,” it said.
The US was the largest source of remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Japan.
Meanwhile, personal remittances which also include non-cash items, reached $3.23 billion, or 2.6 percent higher than $3.15 billion recorded in the same month last year.
“The growth in personal remittances in September 2023 was driven by increased remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said.
The total personal remittances received from January to September reached $27.24 billion, up by 2.8 percent from $26.49 billion registered in the comparable period in 2022.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort earlier said remittances from OFWs in the Middle East would not be significantly affected by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas militants that started Oct. 7.
Remittances from OFWs working in Israel stood at $66.7 million from January to July this year, representing 0.5 percent of the total remittances for the period.
Remittances from Israel reached $110.6 million in 2022, or 0.3 percent of the total, Ricafort said, citing data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
He said, however, “there might be some reduction of new OFW deployment.” The government said about 30,000 Filipinos are living in Israel.
Cash remittances rose 3.6 percent in 2022 to a record $32.54 billion from $31.42 billion in 2021 on sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers overseas. The full-year remittances growth, however, missed the official target of 4 percent set by the Bangko Sentral.
The Bangko Sentral expects remittances to grow 3 percent in 2023.
