By Joann Villanueva
MANILA – Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose 4.2 percent year-on-year to USD3.52 billion in December 2025, driven mainly by higher inflows from land-based workers, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed Monday.
The December performance brought total cash remittances for 2025 to a record USD35.63 billion, up 3.3 percent from USD34.49 billion in 2024.
Inflows from land-based workers reached USD2.83 billion in December, 4.5 percent higher than a year earlier, while remittances from sea-based workers increased 3.3 percent to USD0.69 billion.
For the full year, land-based workers sent USD28.49 billion through banks and BSP-regulated financial institutions, up 3.4 percent. Sea-based workers remitted USD6.94 billion, 2.9 percent higher year-on-year.
Including in-kind transfers and remittances sent through informal channels, personal remittances totaled USD3.60 billion in December, up 4.2 percent. The 2025 full-year figure reached USD39.62 billion, a 3.3 percent increase.
By source, the BSP said the United States accounted for the largest share at 39.7 percent, followed by Singapore (7.3 percent), Saudi Arabia (6.6 percent), Japan (5 percent), and the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates (4.6 percent each).
Remittances accounted for about 7.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2025, the BSP said.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said the growth was largely due to seasonal factors and currency movements.
“Some OFWs and their dependents waited to convert at the highest possible exchange rate since the US dollar/peso exchange rate breached above the previous record high of 59.00 since October 27, 2025 that led to some pent-up demand until December 2025,” he said.
“Some OFWs also increased remittances and conversion to pesos in December 2025 before the 1 percent tax on OFW remittances from the US took effect in 2026,” he added. (PNA)
