The remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have increased by 2.9 percent which is equivalent to $2.78 billion in May which is higher than the $2.7 billion in the same month last year.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said that the 2 percent growth rate observed in May 2022 is faster but slower than the 3.8 percent recorded in April 2023.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas noted an increase of money remittances from both land-based and sea-based OFWs.
“The increase in personal remittances in May 2023 was due to higher remittances sent by 1) land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and 2) sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP said in a statement.
Personal remittances for the first five months of the year grew by 3.1 percent to US$14.46 billion, from US$14.02 billion posted in the comparable period in 2022.
“Of the personal remittances from OFWs, cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.8 percent to US$2.49 billion in May 2023 from the US$2.43 billion recorded in the same month last year. The expansion in cash remittances in May 2023 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers,” it added.
The growth in cash remittances came from the United States (U.S.), Singapore, and Saudi Arabia contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first five months of 2023.
Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the U.S. posted the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Japan.
