Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWs) huge remittances fuel the booming sales of major shopping malls across the Philippines.
SM Prime Holdings, for instance, admitted that money sent home by OFWs formed a huge part of why they became the country’s leading and most successful shopping mall.
In the first five months of 2017, the total amount of cash sent by land-based OFWs alone to the country benchmarked $11.35 billion.
A common practice by families of OFWs in the Philippines is to stroll around shopping centers and make a purchase brand new clothes, shoes, bags, etc, instead of going straight to the bank to save even just a little for the rainy days.
Mie Virtucio, a 55-year-old housewife whose husband is an OFW in the Middle East, receives P50,000 a month. She told The Filipino Times that she pays utility bills immediately once she gets remittance sent by his husband.
However, she confessed that one of the things she’d like to practice starting this year is to keep her spending in check all the time and saving a portion in her bank account.
Robert Go, the President of Philippine Retails Association (PRA) – Cebu Chapter, admitted that domestic and overseas remittances advance the growth of the shopping malls and retailers sectors in Cebu.
Alongside remittances, Go also mentioned tourism and high-paying industries as driving factors in sustaining the province’s vibrant retail scene.
by Marien Alcala
