The global financial crisis appeared to be the catalyst for overseas Filipinos, who continued to send money back to the Philippines.

In September 2009, Filipino remittances reached US$1.446 billion, putting the total remittance for the first nine months of the year to US$12.8 billion, 4.2% higher than the US$12.3 billion sent home during the same period last year. This prompted the Central Bank of the Philippines to revise its yearly remittance value from US$16.4 billion to US$17.1 billion.

Filipino worker outside a money remittance center in Singapore.
Photo credit: Lil Snoop

Eighty per cent of remittance come from land-based workers while the remaining 20 per cent came from sea-based workers. Among land-based workers, top sources of money remittance are United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore.

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