Record High OFW Remittances Proves Government Right
Posted on July 28th, 2009
“We always knew this would happen,†Deputy Presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar commented on the increase in OFW remittances posted in May.
Malacañang said that the record high remittances proved that the government was correct in being optimistic about the country’s economy this year.
Olivar said they are happy about this kind of numbers. “It is just the foreign analysts who are surprised,†he added.
He made these comments as international financial and lending institutions have made several forecasts that the Philippine economy would contract this year.
The bleak forecasts are rooted on the assumption that OFW remittances would significantly decline.
The government’s economic think tanks, however, opposed the foreign analysts and bet that the 0.8 to 1.8 percent growth forecast for 2009 remains reachable.
Reports from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas say that OFW remittances in May was at a new record-high of $1.48 billion, bringing the total remittances for the first five months of the year to $6.98 billion.
Olivar said that such is a vindication of our continuing faith. He added that the country also posted a lower trade deficit because of the growing recovery. “So both, in terms of goods and services, good news for the month of May,†he said.
He did not express concern over the fact that more Filipinos are leaving the country to work abroad. He explained that it is not the first time that a country finds its fortune in other countries.
Olivar however, still believes that it is the private sector that will provide jobs in the long run.
