Money sent home by Filipinos working overseas rose 4.7 percent in the first half to $13.8 billion from $13.2 billion a year ago, on sustained demand of other countries for skilled Filipino workers, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said Tuesday.
The 4.7-percent expansion in the first semester exceeded the government’s conservative 4-percent remittance growth target for the whole year.
Data from Bangko Sentral showed that in June alone, remittances climbed 5.7 percent to a three-month high of $2.467 billion from $2.334 billion a year ago.
“The sustained increase in remittances was supported by stable demand for skilled Filipinos abroad. Preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that for the period January to June 2017, the total number of deployed OF workers reached 1,140,226 which is already more than 50 percent of the total number of OF workers deployed for the year 2016 at 2,112,331,” Espenilla said in a statement.
Espenilla said cash remittances from land-based workers reached $1.9 billion while those from sea-based workers amounted to $500 million in June. These figures were 3.8 percent and 13.3 percent, respectively higher from the same period last year.
The United States, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Singapore were the major contributors to the growth in cash remittances in June.
Personal remittances, which include non-cash items, grew 5.5 percent in the first half to $15.364 billion from $14.569 billion. For the month of June alone, personal remittances expanded 6.8 percent to a three-month high of $2.751 billion from $2.575 billion a year earlier.
“Growth was boosted largely by the 5.5-percent increase in personal remittances from land-based workers with long-term contracts, whose remittances comprised 77.3 percent of total personal remittances,” Espenilla said.
Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said the 4-percent remittance growth target this year would translate into a record $28 billion, up from $26.9 billion posted in 2016.