Dollars sent back to the Philippines by expatriate Filipinos hit their highest level in history in 2019, thanks to the growing amount of dollars remitted by land-based workers with long term contracts, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday (Feb. 17).
In a statement, the BSP said personal remittances from overseas workers reached $33.5 billion in 2019, 3.9 percent higher than the $32.2 billion recorded in 2018.
For the month of December alone, personal remittances posted a year-on-year growth of 1.9 percent growth to register its highest monthly level at $3.2 billion.
Further, the 6.5 percent rise in personal remittances — which included financial resources sent back home by expatriate Filipinos, regardless of purpose or source — from sea-based and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year, amounting to $ 7.1 billion from $6.7 billion, contributed to the growth in personal remittances.
In 2019, personal remittances, which boost household income and consumption, accounted for 9.3 percent of gross domestic product and 7.8 percent of gross national income.
Much of the remittances from overseas Filipinos were in the form of cash that were sent through banks. Total cash remittances in 2019 amounted to an all-time high of $30.1 billion, 4.1 percent higher than the $28.9 billion recorded in 2018.
Growth of cash remittances was fueled by stronger flows from both land and sea-based workers, amounting to $23.6 billion, an increase of 3.5 percent, and US$6.5 billion, an increase of 6.5 percent.
“Notwithstanding pockets of political uncertainties across the globe, cash remittances in 2019 remained strong,” the BSP said.
“This is evident in inward remittances from Asia, the Americas and Africa, where inflows grew annually by 12.3 percent, 10.6 percent and 4.8 percent,” said the BSP.
The growth of inflows in these regions more than made up for the 9.8 percent decline in remittances from the Middle East.
In 2019, remittance inflows came mainly from the U.S. — which accounted for the highest share to total remittances at 37.6 percent — followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Japan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K., Canada, Hong Kong, Germany and Kuwait.
Remittances from these countries accounted for 78.4 percent of total cash remittances during the period.