OFWs remitted $6.2-B in 2001

Led by those in Northern America, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remitted $6.23 billion (roughly P317 billion) to the country last year, a 3.05 percent increase from the $6.05 billion they sent home in 2000, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported yesterday.

A report submitted to acting Labor Secretary Arturo Briones showed that $3.3 billion was sent home by Filipinos working in the US and Canada in 2001, a 17.5 percent reduction from the previous year. Remittances from Europe also fell by 24.22 percent to $405.1 million.

However, the fall from these regions was made up for by the increase from other places like Asia, where remittances grew by 26.19 percent to $1.04 billion. Remittances from the Middle East improved 19.8 percent to $711.81 million.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said remittances from land-based workers were steady at $5.14 billion while those from seafarers rose by 17.98 percent to $1.09 billion.

The country’s more than five million OFWs have been recognized as "modern-day heroes" because their dollar remittances prop up the economy. The almost $7 billion in annual remittance is a major source of foreign exchange for the cash-strapped country.

Figures submitted to DOLE reflect the money remitted through official channels and do not cover the huge amounts that are sent home through informal couriers.

The POEA said global deployment of OFWs rose by 2.9 percent to 866,590 last year. The 10 top OFW destinations are Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Singapore, Italy, Kuwait, United Kingdom and Brunei.