Remittances higher in March at $3.13B

MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose in March compared to a month and a year earlier, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed on Thursday.

At $3.13 billion, personal remittances were higher than the $3.024 billion recorded in February and also increased from the $3.051 billion seen in March 2024.

“Both land-based and sea-based workers contributed to the increase in remittances,” the central bank said in a statement.

The result also came as several overseas Filipino groups called for a zero remittance week from March 28 to April 4 in protest over the arrest and extra-dition to The Hague of former president Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity.

The latest monthly count pushed the first-quarter remittances tally to $9.4 billion, up 2.7 percent from the $9.15 billion recorded in January-March last year.

In March alone, money sent home via banks totaled $2.81 billion, 2.6 percent more than the $2.74 billion posted a year earlier and February's $2.72 billion.

The US continued to account for the biggest share of overall remittances at 40.7 percent, followed by Singapore at 7.6 percent; Saudi Arabia, 6.2 per-cent; Japan, 4.9 percent; and the United Arab Emirates, 4.6 percent.

Rounding out the top 10 were the United Kingdom (4.4 percent), Canada (3.1 percent), Taiwan (2.8 percent), Qatar (2.8 percent), and Hong Kong (2.7 percent).

The BSP qualified that remittance data by source has limitations, with the US appearing to be the main source as remittance centers in cities abroad commonly course the money through correspondent banks that are mostly located in the US.

Sought for comment, Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo Rivera said the increase in remittances was largely due to sustained demand for Filipino labor abroad, particularly in the areas of health care, engineering and domestic services.

“Seasonal factors like Holy Week and school-related expenses may have also encouraged higher remittance flows during the period,” he added.

“Despite global uncertainties, remittances continue to show resilience, serving as a critical support for household con-sumption and a buffer for the country's external accounts.”