CASH remittances sent by overseas Filipinos (OFs) reached $2.9 billion in March, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Friday, marked a 2.3-percent increase from the $2.8 billion recorded during the same month last year.
Land-based OFs accounted for a $2.26-billion share of the total remittances, marking a 2.2-percent annual increase. On the other hand, sea-based OFs accounted for around $610 million of the remittances, a 2.5-percent increase from the previous year.
The March figures also bring year-to-date remittances for the first quarter to $8.68 billion, 2.8 percent higher than the $8.44 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The United States remained the Philippines’ top source of cash remittances from January to March 2026, accounting for 39.9 percent of the total. Singapore followed at 7.6 percent and Saudi Arabia followed at 6.3 percent.
Personal remittances, which include cash sent through banks, informal channels, and in kind, reached $3.20 billion in March, a 2.3-percent increase from the $3.13 billion recorded a year earlier. According to the BSP, this was also a 0.3-percent increase on a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis.
Total personal remittances for the first quarter also rose to $9.66 billion, a 2.8-percent increase from the $9.40 billion in the first quarter of the previous year.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the slightly higher remittances comes “amid relatively higher US dollar/peso exchange rate as some OFWs (OF workers) and their dependents waited to convert at the highest possible exchange rate.”
