Following the drop in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), a lawmaker called for more labor deals with other countries that will hire more Filipino workers.
Citing data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Leyte Rep. Henry Ong said the remittances from Middle East countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, dropped significantly by 12.9 percent and 15.8 percent respectively.
Ong attributed this decline in remittances to the decreasing demand for workers to the region saying “the OFW market in the Middle East is reaching saturation point.”
“It is time for a major but gradual shift of our OFW policies. Those who want to stay in the Middle East can of course do so. OFWs from the Middle East will remit anywhere from $8 billion to $9 billion in the coming several years—near-term to medium-term, but the growth rates or pace will be slower and slower,” Ong said.
“Based on the cash remittances data of the Bangko Sentral, it looks like the saturation point will be well below $9 billion annually and this saturation point will be reached within the next four to five years,” he said.
With the declining market for OFWs in the Middle East, Ong said the government should secure labor deals with other countries where OFWs are welcomed and needed.
While OFW remittances are expected to grow during the second half of the year especially during the Christmas season, Ong said the government should begin giving answers to the declining remittances from the region.
On August 16, BSP released a report stating that the total cash remittances sent by OFWs in June fell by 4.5 percent to US$2.4 billion compared to the same period last year.
The BSP is pointing to repatriation as possible cause of the decline.
“The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) repatriation program of the government may have partly affected the remittance flows for the month,” it said in a statement.
According to data, 4,149 OFWs were repatriated in the first two months of 2018 and this may have taken a toll on the amount of money being sent home to the Philippines.
