MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from Filipinos abroad grew at a slower pace of 5.4 percent in January on the back of economic growth concerns in advanced economies led by the US as well as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.
BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said that total remittances from overseas Filipinos amounted to $1.557 billion in January or $81 million higher than the $1.476 billion booked in January last year.
“Sustained demand for professional and skilled Filipino workers underpinned the steady flow of remittances,” Tetangco stressed.
However, this is the slowest year-on-year growth since November 2009 when overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) remittances went up by 5.1 percent.
The BSP sees the growth of OFW remittances slowing down to five percent this year. Higher remittances result in stronger external payments position, boosting the country’s buffer fund to fend off the impact of global shocks.
OFW remittances went up by 7.2 percent to a new record high of $20.117 billion last year from $18.763 billion in 2010, exceeding the revised growth target of seven percent.
Tetangco said remittances from sea-based Filipino workers jumped 19.8 percent to $369 million while that of land-based workers inched up by 1.6 percent to $1.2 billion in January.
Data showed that about 60.2 percent of land-based workers’ remittances in January came from the US with 24.4 percent, Canada with 13.1 percent, Saudi Arabia with 8.4 percent, the United Arab Emirates with 3.9 percent, Italy with 3.5 percent, Japan with 3.5 percent, and the United Kingdom with 3.4 percent.
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