FUNDS sent in by overseas Filipinos posted a 2.6% annual increase in March this year on the back of higher inflows from land- and sea-based workers during the month, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) yesterday showed.
Cash remittances or money transfers through banks or formal channels were recorded at $2.810 billion in March, 2.7% higher than the $2.738 billion in March 2024, and higher than the $2.716 billion in February 2025.
This brought year-to-date cash remittances up 2.7% to $8.444 billion from $8.219 billion in the comparable period of 2024.
“The growth in cash remittances from the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates was the main driver of the overall increase in remittances during January-March 2025,” the BSP said.
The United States accounted for 40.7% of cash remittances for the first quarter, followed by Singapore with 7.6%, Saudi Arabia with 6.2%, Japan with 4.9%, and the United Arab Emirates with 4.6%.
The United Kingdom had a 4.6% share, Canada with 3.1%, Qatar and Taiwan with 2.8% each, and Hong Kong with 2.7%, while other countries accounted for the remaining 20.3%.
The BSP noted, however, that remittances coursed through money couriers cannot be disaggregated by actual country source and these are lodged under the country where the main offices are located, which is in the United States in many cases.
Personal remittances — the sum of transfers sent in cash or in-kind via informal channels — stood at $3.130 billion, up 2.6% from $3.051 billion the same month last year.
Personal remittances from workers with contracts of at least a year were recorded at $2.40 billion, and $0.66 billion for those with less than a year.
Cumulative personal remittances increased 2.7% to $9.397 billion from $9.151 billion in the first three months of 2024.
To recall, a number of overseas supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte planned to stop sending money to the Philippines from March 28 to April 4, in protest of his arrest by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and to push authorities to bring him back to his home country.
Economists earlier said such plans could impact economic growth should it continue, but this would be manageable as inflows were just likely to be delayed and spill over to the next month. (GMA Integrated News)
