WITH remittances reaching $26.03 billion in the first nine months of the year, the Philippines is on pace to log another record-high inflow of cash from overseas Filipinos.
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed cash remittances grew by 3.2 percent year-on-year to $26.030 billion as of the end of September 2025, from $25.226 billion during the same period last year.
The United States remained the top source of remittances to the Philippines during the nine-month period, according to the BSP, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
‘There is optimism that the Philippines will attain another record-high inflow of foreign-sourced cash remittances from the over-10 million Filipino population who work and reside abroad,’ Jeremaiah M. Opiniano, executive director of the Institute for Migration and Development Issues (IMDI), told BusinessMirror.
This will be driven by families affected by recent disasters seeking help from loved ones abroad, as well as the strengthening of the US dollar against the peso, Opiniano said.
‘Given the recent string of disasters, those who will send money will remit it regardless of the foreign exchange rate,’ Opiniano added.
Still, the Philippines has yet to return to the above-3.5 percent monthly cumulative growth levels last seen in December 2022 and January 2023.
‘Ber months’ and weak peso
The onset of the ‘-ber’ months marks the start of the holiday season in the Philippines, which in turn, increases the inflows of remittances by overseas Filipino workers to their families for celebrations and gatherings, Reinielle Matt Erece, economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc., said.
‘We may continue to see remittances grow stronger in the last two months of the year, add to that the upward exchange rate movements, which may amplify the peso value of remittances,’ Erece added.
Robert Dan Roces, group economist at SM Investments Corporation, said the peso’s slight depreciation in September offered only a ‘modest’ conversion boost.
‘A dollar did translate to a bit more in peso terms, but this was a small nudge rather than a major driver of the increase,’ Roces noted.
For the rest of the year, Roces said remittance growth will likely stay in the 3 to 4 percent range.
The peso, meanwhile, may remain under pressure from a firm US dollar and lingering political noise, Roces added. ‘Any FX-related lift to remittances could be limited and will not offset broader risks to inflation and sentiment.’
Drum up economic, social measures
Opiniano cited the BSP’s third quarter Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) 2025, which showed that OFW families allocated 39.3 percent of their incomes to savings, while the share for investments also rose to 7.7 percent.
Meanwhile, allotments for debt payments increased compared with last year, indicating that more first-time migrant workers had borrowed to cover predeparture costs.
‘We hope that these developments from the CES; 2025 third quarter round redound to a start in savings and investment habits for overseas Filipinos,’ Opiniano said.
Despite these positive indicators, Opiniano said economic and social protection measures for this population growth may have to be ramped up.
‘We cannot always rely on overseas employment, and when news that there may be lower remittances or lower numbers of deployed OFWs comes their way (such as the January-September 2025 figures from the Department of Migrant Workers) economic and migration managers get rattled,’ Opiniano noted.
Personal remittances
BSP data further showed that the increase in cash remittances also boosted personal remittances, including those sent through banks and informal channels, as well as remittances in kind.
Personal remittances rose by 3.8 percent to $3.46 billion in September 2025 from $3.34 billion in the same month last year.
Year-to-date personal remittances also went up by 3.2 percent to $28.97 billion in January to September from $28.07 billion recorded in the same period a year.