Filipinos working and living abroad sent the least amount of cash remittances to the Philippines last February, the lowest in the last nine months, the country’s central bank reported.
While remittances coursed through banks rose to USD3.02 billion in January this year, it fell by 7.7 per cent to USD2.79 billion two months ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) revealed.
It was the weakest level of remittances through bank transactions since the USD2.66 billion cash inflow in May 2025.
Land-based overseas Filipino workers sent home USD2.25 billion in February, while sea-based workers remitted $530 million, BSP said.
The bank explained the dip may be attributed to Filipinos abroad having already sent more funds to their families during the Christmas and New Year holidays in December and January.
“The United States remained the top source of cash remittances to the Philippines in January and February 2026 – accounting for 40 per cent of the total – followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the BSP said.
Japan (5.3%), the United Kingdom (4.7%), the United Arab Emirates (4.2%), Canada (3.1%), Taiwan (3%), Qatar (2.9%), and Hong Kong (2.7%) are countries where significant remittances came from.
Meanwhile, personal remittances – coursed through banks, online financial applications, remittance centers, and informal channels as well as in-kind items – rose by 2.6 per cent to USD3.1 billion in February from USD3.02 billion a year ago, BSP reported.
In the January to February, personal remittances grew by 3.1 per cent to USD6.46 billion from USD6.27 billion a year earlier.
The Philippine Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DepDEV), however, expressed fears that the ongoing hostilities in the Middle East may push OFW remittances to lower levels for the rest of 2026.
DepDEV secretary Arsenio Balisacan said OFW remittances may fall by as much as P167.45 billion if the US-Israel-Iran war leads to massive job losses and forced repatriations.
Remittances by the estimated 10 to 15 million Filipinos living and working abroad contribute to as much as 10 per cent of the Philippines gross domestic product and is the country’s main source of foreign exchange. # (Raymund B. Villanueva)
