Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached $2.70 billion in May, higher by 2 percent than the $2.65 billion posted in the same month last year.

This resulted in the increase of the cumulative personal remittances by 2.5 percent to $14.02 billion from January to May from $13.68 billion recorded in the comparable period in 2021.

The increase in personal remittances in May was due to remittances sent by land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more, and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.

Similarly, cash remittances coursed through banks increased by 1.8 percent year-on-year to $2.43 billion in May from $2.38 billion registered in the same month in 2021.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances reached $12.59 billion, 2.5 percent higher than the $12.28 billion recorded in the comparable period last year.

The expansion in cash remittances in May was due to the growth in receipts from land-based and sea-based workers.

In terms of country source, the growth in cash remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore contributed largely to the increase in remittances from January to May. BSP