There are not called “Bagong Bayani” for nothing.
In the Inclusive Development and Migration Forum 2015, held
in Singapore, then Finance Undersecretary Gil S. Beltran in his speech cited
the contributions of migrant workers to improving the lives not only of their
families, but also their communities, and even to national economies.
“In the Philippines, the steady stream of remittances has played a vital role in the economy – reversing the boom-and-bust cycle of the last decade. It led to the national savings rate rising above domestic investment rate, and the accumulation of foreign reserves. It strengthened balance of payments and bolstered the country’s current account position, enabling to withstand the volatilities of the world economy,” Beltran said. *
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| Cash remittances of Filipino migrant workers reached an all time high of $2.7B last December 2017( photo credit to owner) |
Just as importantly, Beltran added that: "It [remittance] has improved the living standards of the recipient families. It led to an enlarged middle class, creating an expanding market for goods and services. Further, it has spawned an industry that enhances wealth creation – advising/managing funds and real estate properties for this nascent middle class."
And now the numbers are just in, cash remittances from
overseas Filipino workers and it just joined the “all time highs” bandwagon
that is happening under the Duterte administration. The remittances for
December 2017 hit an all time high after getting a boost during the Christmas season,
beating the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ growth forecast.
Remittances sent by Filipino migrant workers reached a
record $2.7 billion last December, a 7.1 percent rise from last year.
That brought the
12-month tally to $28.1 billion, 4.3 percent higher than $26.9 billion posted
in 2016.
The full figure reached
for the year 2017 also exceeded the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 4
percent growth estimate.
"The higher cash
remittances in 2017 was supported by the increase in transfers from both
land-based and sea-based workers, by 4.0 percent and 5.4 percent,
respectively," the BSP said in a statement.
The top three country source are from the United
States of America, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia respectively. Singapore,
Japan, United Kingdom, Qatar, Kuwait, Germany, and Hong Kong rounds up the top
10 source countries of cash remittances of overseas Filipino workers. *
"This is simply because Overseas Filipinos
want their families to enjoy the season. This is actually expected and the seen
strength of the peso at the last two months of 2017," Union Bank of the
Philippines Chief Economist Ruben Carlo Asuncion said when asked to comment on
the government figures that was released.
The Philippine Peso was considered the weakest
currency in the ASEAN region last year, ended the year 2017 on a good note
versus the US dollar,full year depreciation of the local currency against the
greenback averaging only 0.42 percent.
"For 2017, the 4.3
percent growth [in remittances] is welcome... This growth is attributed to the
encouraging 2017 global growth, the fastest since 2011," Asuncion said.
"Global oil prices
have also risen which has afforded middle east countries to recover from the
super low levels the last three years. Our OFWs are the ones who have benefitted
from these upside factors," Asuncion added.
Moving forward, Asuncion
said that with an estimated global growth of 3-2 percent this year, OFWs are
expected to benefit from "improving global economic prospects."
Report from PhilStar
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