The Culture Factor Behind Remittances

The continuing increase in remittances from Filipinos living or working abroad has defied expectations that the global economic slowdown will reduce the amount of money sent home by overseas Filipinos.

Personal remittances from OFWs reached $2.7 billion in May 2018, up 6.1% from the same month last year. The figure is also slightly higher than the $2.6 billion registered in April 2018.

OFWs were able to send a total of $13.2 billion from January to May, 4.4% higher year-on-year. Land-based OFWs with work contracts of one year or more were able to send a total of $10.2 billion, while sea-based and land-based workers with short-term contracts contributed $2.7 billion.

The Bangko Sentral cites the continuing deployment of workers amid the global slowdown and the high-paying jobs that Filipinos occupy abroad as the major factors behind the rise in remittances.

While these factors are important, the uptrend in remittances is also influenced by Filipino culture. 

It is assumed especially by your extended family that once you’re there you have to give something. You have to give something or else those loved ones of yours will think- not less of you- but they will think something’s wrong with them

It’s nearly impossible for Filipinos to disregard the needs of their family. Most of them would sacrifice having to take out loans with high interest just to send money home

By now, overseas Filipinos should have seen, heard or read reports about the gloomy forecasts for the Philippine economy, which evoke images of suffering, of a country in crisis. Filipino culture, which fosters close family ties, comes to surface, as it did during the rice crisis. Overseas Filipinos, including those who are having difficulty making ends meet, will find a way to send money to their families in their homeland.

 Summing up, the cultural force that drives Filipinos to work abroad is the same force that assures that remittances will continue to grow. And it is not only the individual families of overseas Filipinos that benefit — remittances saved the Philippine economy from collapse during the early eighties and during the late nineties, and continue to drive economic growth.