Remittances sent by the eight million overseas Filipinos amounted to $17.3 billion in 2009, $200 million more than forecast, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor-in-Charge Diwa C. Guinigundo said Sunday.

Fund transfers increased 5.6 percent year-on-year, higher than the four percent projection for the period. For this year, BSP expects remittances through banks to increase by six percent to more than $18 billion.

For the month of December, remittances went up by 11.4 percent to its highest monthly level last year of $1.6 billion.

Based on data, remittances from sea-based and land-based workers rose by 12.1 percent to $3 billion and 4.2 percent to $13.94 billion, respectively in 2009.

Guinigundo said remittances remained "resilient amid the recent global financial crisis, providing strong support to domestic demand."

"The remittance level for the year accounted for 10.8 percent of the country's GDP," he added.
In a statement, BSP said the steady OFW flows were underpinned by the following factors:

*The sustained demand for Filipino workers overseas, specifically the skilled workers such as engineers, medical practitioners and teachers;

*The conduct of bilateral talks with host countries which continue to open up new employment opportunities abroad for Filipinos and facilitate hiring of displaced workers who were affected by the global economic difficulties; and

*The continued expansion of bank and non-bank service providers international and domestic market coverage to capture a larger share of the global remittance market as well as the introduction of innovative products and services that cater to remitters specific needs.