Overseas Filipinos sent home $14.4-B in 2007

Money sent home by overseas Filipinos in 2007 reached $14.4 billion, or 13.2 percent higher than the previous year’s $12.8 billion remittances sent through the banking system, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported on Friday. However, the amount was below the original BSP projection of $14.6 billion total remittances for last year, but it was $100 million more than the reduced projection of $14.3 billion. BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr said the higher remittance level was corresponding to the increase in the number of Filipino workers deployed overseas. The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has reported that deployment of workers in December 2007 grew 20.8 percent to 73, 643 compared to the previous month. The total number of Filipino workers deployed abroad in 2007 reached 1, 073, 402, or one percent higher than the previous year. Remittances from overseas Filipinos have been the powerhouse behind the country’s robust growth in 2007. Despite the excess liquidity created by strong foreign exchange inflows, monetary officials said remittances have been funding domestic consumption. BSP said that in December alone, remittances coursed through banks reached $1.4 billion, the highest monthly remittance level since May 2006. Tetangco said remittances accounted for the bulk of the net factor income from abroad and about 10 percent of nominal Gross Domestic Product in 2007. He also attributed the robust remittance inflows in 2007 to the continued demand abroad for Filipino workers and enhanced remittance services provided by banks and non-bank remittance agents. Tetangco noted that about 40 to 45 percent of workers abroad were paid in US dollars or in currencies pegged against the US dollar, indicating that almost half of them were adversely affected by the appreciation of the peso and the weakness of the dollar. Classified by type of worker, the number of deployed land-based Filipino workers rose by 2.8 percent to 809,740 in 2007, while the number of sea-based workers contracted by 4.0 percent to 263,662. The lower number of deployed sea-based workers in 2007 can be partly attributed to delays encountered in recent months in the issuance of workers' visa by host countries. According to the POEA, the major countries of destination in 2007 included Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Taiwan, with professionals and skilled workers accounting for the bulk of deployed new hires. Tetangco said the employment prospects for overseas workers in the near term remained favorable following indications of continued demand from labor-importing countries such as Canada, Australia, Middle East, South Korea, and Taiwan. Employment opportunities were identified in the sectors of construction, information technology, engineering, architecture, and hotel/restaurant service. Tetangco said the significant increase in remittances in 2007 also resulted from the increased presence of commercial banks and local money transfer agents in countries with high concentration of Filipino manpower. "In particular, banks increased the number of remittance centers abroad, including tie-ups with their foreign counterparts, which in turn facilitated the transfer of remittances to beneficiaries," he said. Remittance flows were expected to get a further boost from the newly-signed agreements between a local money transfer company and two (2) telecommunication service providers aimed at providing overseas Filipinos with convenient and affordable remittance transfers with value added services through the use of mobile communications. To date, the BSP reported that the bulk of remittance flows came from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, U.K., Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong. - GMANews.TV