BSP COMPLEX, Manila — With the upcoming Christmas holidays triggering a surge in remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and migrants in other countries, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has recorded a total US43 billion in money and goods or commodities sent back home from abroad in view of the so-called ‘ber months’ that ushers in the Yuletide season.

According to the BSP, personal remittances—the sum of transfers sent in both cash and in kind—stood at US$3.34 billion, up 3.3 percent from US$3.23 billion recorded in September 2023.

September’s figures brought the year-to-date personal remittances to stand at US$28.07 billion, up 3 percent from US$27.24 billion seen in January to September 2023.

BSP governor Eli Remolona disclosed that the significant growth in personal remittances in September this year was due to higher 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.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) contributed mainly to the increase in remittances in January-September 2024,” Remolona cited.

“In terms of country sources, the US accounted for the largest share of overall cash remittances in January-September 2024, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Meanwhile, in an emailed commentary, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort noted that the increase in remittances during the period was “view of the expected seasonal surge in OFW remittances and conversion to pesos during the Christmas and New Year holiday season in December, the biggest spending by consumers in a typical year.”