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Elevated
skills and higher deployment allowed the remittances of
overseas Filipinos to push 14.1-percent higher in the
first 11 months of 2007 to $13.1 billion, lifting hopes
of another banner year.
The
forecast was for the remittances to grow by at least 10
percent during the year to $14.74 billion, but already
the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expected the goal
to be breached.
According to BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr.,
remittances through banks in November alone expanded by
another 3.8 percent to $1.2 billion, sustaining a trend
set for 18 months in a series already.
Since
May 2006 the monthly remittances from 8 million OFWs
have exceeded $1 billion, providing the economy with a
rich supply of financial power driving consumption
forward at a fast clip.
Frenetic
consumption activities in the first nine months of 2007
helped push the gross domestic product higher to 7.1
percent.
“The
sustained strong remittance flows in November reflected
the continued rise in the number of deployed overseas
workers,” Tetangco said in a statement.
According to data from the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration, total deployment in November
last year lifted by 7.7 percent year-on-year to 81,530,
marking the fifth consecutive month that the deployment
figure recorded an increase from the respective year-ago
levels.
Data
show the number of deployed land- and sea-based workers
in November grew by 10.1 percent and 3.2 percent,
respectively.
The bulk
of deployed land-based Filipino workers were mostly
higher-paid professional and skilled workers, such as
medical and health-care workers staffs, engineers,
office and restaurants/food service staffs, and
production-related personnel.
Tetangco
said the higher remittances in 11 months could be traced
to the increase in the number of remittance centers
abroad as banks and other financial institutions
strengthened their tie-ups with foreign remittance
agents.
These
provided remitters fast and efficient modes of
remittance transfers and allowed beneficiaries to avail
themselves of a range of financial services offered by
banks. |
