Oil Prices to Hit Remittance Growth in PH, Says Apex Bank
MANILA: As oil prices continue to dip and Middle East becomes volatile, the Philippine government is possibly staring at a flat growth in cumulative cash remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the next two years, a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official has pointed out.
Inquirer quoted Diwa Guinigundo, Bangko Sentral deputy governor, as saying that remittances are expected to not fall below $28.5 billion, the full-year remittances reported by the central bank in 2015.
Government is still targeting an increase of four or five percent in remittances this year, he reportedly said, adding that an updated projection will be released in April.
Remittances last year increased by nearly five percent to $25.8 billion from $24.62 billion in 2014 “despite the lesser foreign job orders,” the report said.
Citing Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) records, he added only four out of 10 foreign job orders pushed through.
“So kahit pa kalahati lang yung job orders natin (even though we only have half of job orders), we will still continue to grow at least a flat growth for remittances in 2016 and 2017,” he was quoted as saying.
Reports of retrenchment among OFWs are still mainly anecdotal, with no official data to back them up, Guinigundo reportedly said.
“It is true that about 1.5 million Filipinos have been reported in the press that may stand to be disemployed. But again, we asked our various consulates and embassies abroad, with respect to the veracity of the reports, they came out saying that most of these are anecdotal,” he was quoted as saying.
He added that it is also likely that despite the oil price situation in the Middle East, OFW employment will not be largely affected.
Many OFWs now work abroad as highly skilled professionals in medical care and other services-related fields, such as architecture and engineering, Inquirer reported.