Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) grew by 3.8 percent to $2.77 billion in April from $2.67 billion recorded in the same month last year.

The increase in personal remittances in April was due to higher 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.

Consequently, cumulative personal remittances rose by 3.2 percent to $11.68 billion in the first four months of 2023, from $11.32 billion recorded in the comparable period in 2022.

Of the personal remittances from OFs, cash remittances coursed through banks reached $2.48 billion in April , 3.7 percent higher than the $2.40 billion posted in the same month last year. The expansion in cash remittances in April was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.

On a year-to-date basis, cash remittances reached $10.49 billion, up by 3.2 percent from the year-ago level of $10.17 billion.

The growth in cash remittances from the United States , Singapore, and Saudi Arabia contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first four months of 2023.

Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the U.S. posted the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. BSP