BSP counting on the BPO sector to fill OFW remittance dip
As personal remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) continue to dip due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is leaning on the “robust” business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to offset the decline.
Personal remittances dipped by 10.9 percent to $2.62 billion in February—the lowest since $2.55 billion in June last year—from $2.94 billion the previous month. The BSP has since cut down its growth forecast for OFW remittances from three percent to two per cent.
“Whatever we lose in the overseas Filipino remittance, we can make that with the BPO income because I think as a result of the pandemic, that sector will be robust, will be stronger this time,” BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a recent Senate hearing.