MONEY sent home by overseas Filipinos (OFs) further declined in February to a nine-month low, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data showed on Wednesday.
Personal remittances, which include cash sent through banks and informal channels as well as in-kind remittances, dropped by 7.6 percent to $3.1 billion from $3.35 billion a month earlier but rose 2.6 percent from the year-earlier $3.02 billion.
Cash remittances alone totaled $2.78 billion, also lower by 7.7 percent compared to January’s P3.02 billion but 2.6 percent higher than February 2025’s P2.71 billion.
These were the lowest personal and cash remittance tallies recorded since May 2025’s P2.97 billion and P2.66 billion, respectively.
To date, personal and cash remittances were both 3.1 percent higher at P6.46 billion and P5.81 billion from January-February 2025’s P6.27 billion and P5.63 billion, respectively.
The BSP expects remittances to grow to $36.7 billion this year.
Land-based workers accounted for the bulk of cash remittances at $2.25 billion, up from $2.19 billion a year earlier, while sea-based worker remittances rose to approximately $530 million from $520 million.
Reyes Tacandong & Co. senior adviser Jonathan Ravelas said the decline was just a “temporary dip, not a red flag.”
“February is usually a softer month due to seasonality, and higher living costs abroad mean OFs are being more careful — even as remittances still grew year on year,” he said.
“Looking ahead, inflation, slower global growth, and higher fuel prices linked to Middle East tensions may cap remittance growth in the near term, keeping it in low single digits.”
Ravelas said that remittances remained steady as Filipinos working overseas usually send more support to families back home during difficult times. But while these funds help Filipino households, they are not enough to drive economic growth on their own, so the economy still needs other sources of growth this year.
Fears have been raised that the war in the Middle East, if prolonged, could lead to lower remittances due to job losses
The United States continued to account for the biggest share of remittances at 40.0 percent, followed by Singapore (7.6 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.1 percent), Japan (5.3 percent), and the United Kingdom (4.7 percent)
Rounding out the top 10 were the United Arab Emirates (4.2 percent), Canada (3.1 percent), Taiwan (3.0 percent), Qatar (2.9 percent), and Hong Kong (2.7 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.
“Therefore, the US would appear to be the main source of OF remittances because banks attribute the origin of funds to the most immediate source,” the BSP said.
