Personal remittances from Overseas Filipinos (OFs) rose by 2.6 percent to $3.05 billion in March from $2.97 billion recorded in March 2023.

The increase in personal remittances in March 2024 was due to remittances from 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.

For the first quarter, personal remittances increased by 2.8 percent to $9.15 billion from $8.90 billion in the first quarter 2023.

Of the personal remittances from OFs, cash remittances coursed through banks amounted to $2.74 billion in March from $2.67 billion posted in March 2023 or an annual increase of 2.5 percent.

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

On a year-to-date basis, first quarter cash remittances amounted to $8.22 billion, higher by 2.7 percent than the $8 billion registered in the first quarter of 2023.

The growth in cash remittances from the United States , Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates , and Singapore contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in the first quarter of 2024.

In terms of the countries where these remittances originated, the US had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia. BSP