Money sent home by Filipinos working overseas continued its upward trend in May, data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed.
Cash remittances saw a 2.9% increase, reaching $2.66 billion in May, up from $2.58 billion in the same month last year.
Of this total, roughly $2.12 billion came from land-based workers, while sea-based Filipinos contributed $536 million.
The rise in cash remittances also led to an increase in personal remittances, which grew 3% to $2.97 billion from $2.88 billion in May 2024. Personal remittances include transfers through both formal and informal channels, as well as goods sent home.
For the first five months of the year, cash remittances climbed 3% to $13.77 billion, an increase from $13.37 billion during the same period in 2024. Cumulative personal remittances also rose by 3% to $15.34 billion, compared to $14.89 billion last year.
The top sources of these remittances were the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
