MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos (OFs) further reached a seven-month high in July, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Personal remittances totaled $3.6 billion during the month, up 2.0 percent from $3.53 billion recorded in the same month last year. It is also higher than the $3.38 billion last month.
Cash remittances, in particular, grew 1.9 percent to $3.24 billion from $3.18 billion in July 2025. It is also higher than the $3.04 billion recorded in June.
This is the highest level of personal and cash remittances recorded since December 2025’s $3.89 billion and $3.52 billion, respectively.
Land-based workers accounted for the bulk of cash remittances at $2.65 billion, up from $2.59 billion a year earlier, while sea-based worker remittances remained at $590 million.
To date, personal remittances were up 2.3 percent to $22.73 billion and cash remittances also rose by 2.3 percent to $20.39 billion.
Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas said remittances continue to demonstrate “resilience and remain a critical buffer for the Philippine economy.”
“The latest data suggest steady — not spectacular — growth, with the weaker peso providing additional support but not fundamentally changing the long-term trajectory of remittance inflows,” Ravelas said.
Moreover, Chinabank economist Domini Velasquez said the uptick likely reflects higher transfers as overseas Filipinos “help cushion households against softer domestic labor conditions and elevated living costs.”
She also said that the peso’s continued weakness may have “provided an additional incentive, as each dollar sent home translates into more pesos.”
“Looking ahead, remittance growth is likely to remain subdued,” Velasquez said.
She cited the decreased number of Filipino workers deployed abroad, rising living costs in host countries, and heightened economic uncertainty caused by the Middle East conflict.
“While a weaker peso may continue to support the peso value of inflows, this may not be enough to offset softer underlying growth in remittance volumes,” Velasquez added.
The central bank expects remittances to grow to $36.6 billion this year.
The United States continued to account for the biggest share with 30.8 percent of the total, followed by Singapore (10.3 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.3 percent), Japan (5.0 percent), and United Kingdom (4.7 percent).
The BSP said there were limitations on data by source, as remittance centers abroad normally send the money through correspondent banks that are mostly located in the US.
Also, remittances sent through couriers are recorded under the country where their main offices are located, which again in many cases is the US.
“The US appears to be the main source of OF remittances by origin, because the remitting or correspondent banks are mostly located in the US,” the central bank said.
“The data does not imply that the funds were generated within the US,” it added.
