'It's time to move forward'

THE

money sent home to the Philippine by overseas Filipinos grew by 3.6 percent year-on-year in December to $2.8 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Wednesday.

The December personal remittances brought the full-year data to $29.7 billion, or a 4.9 percent increase from the year ago level, and exceeded the projected growth of 4 percent for the year, said BSP officer-in-charge Diwa Guinigundo said.

"The growth in personal remittances was steered by the 7.6 percent expansion in remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, which totaled $23.2 billion," he said.

This made up for the 3.7 percent decline in remittances from sea-based and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year to reach $6.1 billion, he added.

Guinigundo said the overseas Filipinos' cash remittances coursed through banks are "at historic high" of $2.6 billion in December, 3.6 percent higher from a year ago l evel .

The major sources of cash remittances in December were the United States, Qatar, and Japan.

For 2016, the total cash remittances grew by 5 percent to reach $26.9 billion.

The higher cash remittances last year were driven by the $21.3 billion transfers from land-based workers, which grew by 7.6 percent year-on-year.

The sea-based workers' remittances declined by 3.8 percent to $5.6 billion.

"This may have been due partly to stiffer competition in the supply of seafarers, particularly from East Asia and Eastern Europe," Guinigundo said.

About 10 percent of the country's gross domestic product is buoyed by remittances from abroad. MALACAÑANG

on Thursday said that it would do away with the traditional commemoration of the Edsa People Power Revolution, noting that this year’s rites would just be “very simple and very quiet.”

In a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said that there is a need for Filipino people not to “get stuck in the past” and have to “reflect on what can happen in the future.”

Abella said the Palace will just hold a mass for the 31st anniversary of the Edsa uprising.

“[Edsa anniversary] is going to be very simple, very quiet. And the theme will be about the reflection on nation building,” the presidential spokesperson said.

Former President Fidel Ramos, a former military chief who played a crucial role in the 1986 revolution that ended the dictatorship of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, said the Edsa People Power anniversary might be held inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

The Edsa celebration is traditionally held at the People Power Monument on Edsa but Ramos said Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had told him that it will be celebrated in a smaller venue to "avoid traffic congestion."

Abella, however, gave different response when asked why the Duterte administration picked Camp Aguinaldo as this year’s venue.

It stimetomoveonfromjust celebrating the past, remembering the past, and to move on to the whole aspect of nation building, to give it a more positive outlook and to give a more positive understanding. We think holistically. The whole nation is evolving, we can’t get stuck in the past,” Abella said.

Abella also cannot confirm if the President would show up at the commemoration rites.