MONEY SENT HOME by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) jumped by an annual 4% in April, the fastest pace in 28 months, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.

Cash remittances from migrant Filipinos coursed through banks rose by 4% to $2.66 billion in April from $2.56 billion in the same month a year ago.

The 4% annual growth in April was the fastest since the 5.8% seen in December 2022.

However, the amount of cash remittances in April was the lowest in nearly a year or since May 2024 when remittances stood at $2.58 billion.

Month on month, remittances declined by 5.1% from $2.81 billion in March.

In April, cash remittances from land-based workers rose by 4% to $2.08 billion from $2 billion in the same month last year.

Sea-based migrant workers sent home $580 million, 3.8% up from the $560 million a year ago.

Reinielle Matt M. Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory and Research, Inc. said the cash remittances posted a “strong” growth mostly due to “seasonal factors, as this month usually posts one of the fastest during the summer months.”

“The year-on-year increase shows underlying strength in remittance flows, driven by stable overseas employment, particularly in the US, Middle East, and parts of Asia,” John Paolo R. Rivera, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies said in a Viber message.

Personal remittances, which include inflows in kind, rose by 4.1% to $2.97 billion in April from $2.86 billion a year ago.

Personal remittances from workers with contracts of a year or more increased by 3.9% to $2.25 billion, while those with contracts of less than a year jumped by 4.1% to $650 million.

FOUR MONTHS
In the first four months of 2025, cash remittances went up by 3% to $11.11 billion annually from $10.78 billion a year ago.

Cash remittances sent by land-based workers jumped by 3.4% to $8.82 billion as of end-April, while sea-based workers’ remittances went up 1.7% to $2.29 billion.

“Higher growth of remittances from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) drove the overall increase in remittances during January-April 2025,” the BSP said.

The US remained the top source of remittances in April, accounting for 40.4% of the total.

This was followed by Singapore (7.3%), Saudi Arabia (6.3%), Japan (5%), the United Kingdom (4.5%), the UAE (4.5%), Canada (3.2%), Qatar (2.9%), Taiwan (2.7%) and Hong Kong (2.7%).

Personal remittances increased by 3% to $12.37 billion during the January-to-April period, from $12.01 billion in the same period last year.

“We may continue to see stronger remittance inflows from OFWs due to the relative strength of the peso. They may be prompted to send more to maintain the same peso value they used to send,” Mr. Erece said.

The peso closed at P55.84 a dollar at the end of April, appreciating by P1.37 from the P57.21 finish at end-March.

Mr. Rivera said remittance growth is likely to remain steady on the back of demand for Filipino workers overseas, particularly in the healthcare, logistics, and domestic services.

“Global uncertainties such as inflation in host countries, geopolitical tensions, and policy shifts like taxes on remittances in major markets (e.g., the US) are downside risks to monitor,” Mr. Rivera said.

In the US, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act proposes a 3.5% tax on remittances sent abroad by foreign workers, including green card holders and temporary visa workers.

This is expected to have serious implications for countries that heavily rely on remittances, such as the Philippines, India, Mexico and China.

The BSP forecasts 2.8% growth in cash remittances to an estimated $35.5 billion this year.

Next year, cash remittances are projected to grow by 3% to $36.5 billion. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante

By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter

THE Department of Finance (DoF) will renew its push for the passage of a general tax amnesty (GTA) bill in the incoming 20^th Congress.

Finance Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan-Tiuseco said the department is interested in pushing for a new general tax amnesty bill after it failed to secure Congress’ approval.

“[The bill] will address the issues on the veto,” Ms. Tiuseco said in a Viber message on June 13. 

In 2019, then-President Rodrigo R. Duterte vetoed the provisions on the general tax amnesty under the Republic Act (RA) No. 11213 but retained the provisions for estate tax amnesty.

The tax amnesty program looked to impose an amnesty charge equivalent to a portion of the taxpayers’ outstanding unpaid taxes in exchange for immunity from civil, criminal, and administrative penalties.

For his part, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Romeo D. Lumagui, Jr. said the discussions on a general tax amnesty are in the early stages.

“It’s not like it’s being seriously discussed to the point of saying it will happen this year. But it’s being talked about — whether it will happen or not — it’s still kind of in a very, very early stage of discussion,” he said.

In his veto message at that time, Mr. Duterte urged Congress to pass another bill on the general tax amnesty that includes the “lifting of bank secrecy for fraud cases, the inclusion of automatic exchange of information, and safeguard to ensure that asset or net worth declarations are truthful.”

“[Mr. Duterte] noted that without the lifting of the Bank Secrecy Law, the GTA may be abused by taxpayers declaring untruthful asset or net worth without the BIR being able to double check the taxpayers’ representations,” Eleanor L. Roque, a tax principal at P&A Grant Thornton, said in an e-mail to BusinessWorld.

The Bank Secrecy Law or the Republic Act No. 1405 protects the confidentiality of bank deposits in the Philippines. This prevents disclosure or inquiry of deposits in banking institutions.

Ms. Roque said a general tax amnesty could generate much-needed revenue for the government.

“Generally, a GTA is crucial when major tax laws are introduced to give the taxpayers a clean slate. That was the reason why RA 11213 was intended to be a companion law to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law,” she said.

Republic Act No. 10963 or TRAIN, which took effect in 2018, cut personal income tax while increasing the rates on some goods and services.

“Considering the BIR’s intensified efforts in tax audits, some taxpayers may wish to avail the GTA to close ongoing assessments. However, the take-up of the GTA may depend on whether the amnesty amount is reasonable compared to the taxpayers’ deficiency tax exposure and cost of litigation,” Ms. Roque said.

The tax expert also said that the DoF should ensure the ease of availing the general tax amnesty in terms of documentary requirements and reasonable amount.

“It should also provide for a definite time period for the BIR to issue the confirmation of entitlement for the benefits of availing the tax amnesty,” she said.