Remittances from overseas Filipinos (OFs) in 2021 recorded a record high in December, based on data released by the Central Bank of the Philippines (BSP) on Tuesday.
According to the BSP, cash remittances or money transfers made through banks rose 3.3% to $ 2.987 billion in December from $ 2.890 billion in the same month of 2020.
Year-to-date cash remittances rose 5.1% to $ 31.418 billion from $ 29.903 billion in 2020.
“Notwithstanding the global pandemic, cash remittances sent by OFs across various regions remained robust,” the BSP said in a statement.
Annual cash remittances, the largest coming from the Americas, rose 7.1%, in Europe it was 5.5%, in Asia it was 4.5%, and 0.7%in the Middle East.
40.5% of it is from the United States, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Taiwan, Qatar, and South Korea.
Combined remittances from the top 10 countries accounted for 78.9% of total cash remittances for the year.
Meanwhile, personal remittances-or total money or in-kind remittances through informal channels-also rose 2.9% to $ 3.298 billion in December from $ 3.205 billion in the same month of 2020.
This is the highest monthly level recorded since data collection began in 2005.
Throughout 2021, personal remittances reached $ 34.884 billion, up 5.1% from $ 31.194 billion in 2020.
Remittances of Filipinos abroad record-high in 2021
Personal remittances represented 8.9% of gross domestic product and 8.5% of gross national income.
“The growth in personal remittances reflected a pickup in OFW deployment, strong demand for OFWs amid the reopening of host economics to foreign workers, and the continued shift to digital support that facilitated inward transfer of remittances,” according to the BSP.
Meanwhile, an official of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) announced that they are in close contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Philippine Embassy in Ukraine to take steps to repatriate Filipinos in Ukraine in the event of an attack. Russian.
According to POEA Deputy Administrator Bong Plan, they are awaiting notification from the DFA and the Philippine embassy for the corresponding announcement on whether it is necessary to conduct mandatory or voluntary repatriations to OFWs in Ukraine.
“We are closely coordinating with the DFA kasi sila po nakatingin on the ground whatever advices po ang binibigay sa amin dun po kami gumagawa ng mga alert levels para sa amin dito,” said Plan.
Visit our Facebook page for more news updates.