The personal remittances of overseas Filipinos (OFs), a potent source of foreign exchange for the Philippines, increased by 2.8 percent to reach $3.10 billion in August 2023 from only $3.02 billion in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.
The growth in personal remittances in was driven by higher remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than a year.
The total amount of personal remittances from OFs in the first eight months reached $24.01 billion. This represents a 2.9 percent increase from the $23.34 billion in the same period in 2022.
Of the personal remittances, cash remittances sent through banks grew by 2.7 percent in August to $2.80 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same month last year. The growth in cash remittances during the month was due primarily to increased receipts from both land- and sea-based workers.
On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances for the first eight months of 2023 amounted to $21.58 billion, marking a 2.8 percent increase from the $20.99 billion in the same period last year.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore contributed to the increase in remittances in the first eight months of 2023.
In terms of the countries where the remittances originate, the U.S. had the highest overall share during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia.
The remittances accounted for nine percent of local output, measured as the gross domestic product (GDP), in 2022.
