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Bangko Sentral: Pinoys abroad sent $2.4B back to PHL in July


Remittances from overseas Filipinos remained resilient despite the eurozone debt crisis and political tensions in the Middle East, growing 5.4 percent to $2 billion in July, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reported Monday.   “Remittances remained resilient on the back of sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers overseas,” Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.   The July numbers brought to $13.3 billion the amount of money transfers overseas Filipinos transacted during the first seven months of the year, up 5.3 percent year-on-year.   Land-based Filipinos with at least a one-year contract led the growth and accounted for $10 billion dollars in remittances during the seven months to July – up 2.8 percent year-on-year.   Remittances from sea- and land-based OF workers with short-term contracts grew 13.7 percent to $3 billion, Bangko Sentral noted.   Major sources of remittances were the United States at 43.4 percent of the total, followed by Canada at 9.6 percent, Saudi Arabia  at 7.5 percent, the United Kingdom at 4.8 percent, Japan at 4.9 percent, the United Arab Emirates at 4.1 percent,  and Singapore at 4 percent, the Bangko Sentral data showed.   According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, job orders approved in the eight months to August reached 527,630, of which 34 percent consisted of processed orders for the services, professional, technical, and production sectors.   “Majority of these processed job orders were intended for the manpower requirements of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Taiwan,” said Bangko Sentral.   Those with contracts already processed and waiting for deployment were up 4.2 percent to 878,363 in the five months to May, up from 843,255 a year earlier Bangko Sentral said, citing POEA records.   “The strategic alliances and network of bank and non-bank service providers across the globe enhance the capture of remittances through the formal channels,” Bangko Sentral noted.   “As of end-June 2012, commercial banks’ established tie-ups, remittance centers, correspondent banks and branches/representative offices abroad reached 4,587,” it added. — MJC/VS, GMA News

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