OFWs’ December surprise: Monthly record-high remittances of $3.2B

◗ 51.5 percent growth in transfers from Canada ◗ 2018 total remittances also a new record of $32.2 billion

Overseas Filipino Workers saved the best remittance surge for last in 2018.

“As I earlier forecast, overseas Filipinos breached the 2017 remittance record of $31.29 billion, but they also pulled out a Christmas surprise by sending home $3.2 billion in the whole month of December, the highest monthly money transfer total ever,” Rep. Henry C. Ong, Chair of the House Committee on Banks & Financial Intermediaries said.

“Then as I had expected, Canada is a new growth area for remittances. The annual total from Canada is nearly $977 million in 2018 versus the close to $645 million of 2017, for a hefty growth rate of 51.5 percent,” he added.

Ong also noted the 6 percent growth rate in money transfers from the United States.

“Last year, Filipinos and Filipino-Americans sent home $9.986 billion compared to the $9.422 billion of 2017. That’s a huge difference of $564 million,” the Leyte congressman said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also had another surprise, according to Ong.

“In a rare moment of disclosure and openness, the BSP acknowledged the 15.3 percent plunge in remittances from the Middle East in its official statement,” Ong noted.

“This slippage, which I have observed for many months now, is what prompted me to suggest to the economic managers that they execute an OFW deployment strategy that is less dependent on the Middle East market and redeploys OFWs to countries where they are welcome and will be better cared for,”

Ong forecast long-term stagnation of the Middle East as an OFW receiving country.

“Even if remittances from that part of the world recover when the economies there do better with higher oil prices, I expect the money transfers to peak no higher than $8 billion to $8.5 billion,” the ranking solon said.

“Parts of Asia, Africa, South America, and Eastern Europe will be the new promising countries for OFWs, as can be gleaned from the country-by-country breakdown of the cash remittances. In most of these foreign lands, OFW professionals and technicians will be in strong rising demand,” Ong said.

The congressman said the Philippines will soon be a middle income country, still boosted by OFW remittances, but “will also be the global preferred source of technical expertise and professional services.”