BY S.I. RAFFLE
In a report last March 2025, personal remittances from OFWs reached $3.13 billion. It shows that there is a sustained demand for Filipino labor abroad, especially in healthcare, engineering, and domestic work. This growth by 2.6 percent was driven by remittances from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the United States.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Mindanao have an estimated 17.6% of the total OFW population in the Philippines. It means that with this growth, there will be more aspiring workers to chase their dreams abroad. The 2018 National Migration Survey showed that 11% of households in Davao City had an OFW family member. In addition, 16% of Davaoenos are planning to move and work in another country within the next five years, despite the lowest unemployment rate in Davao Region.
As the United States continues to experience a significant teacher shortage, Filipino teachers through the J-1 Visa Teacher Exchange Program are in high demand. These teachers who specialized in STEM, ESL, Foreign Languages, and Special Education received job offers in various school districts in America. They also contribute to the robust remittances for the country.
However, economists sounded an alarm recently over a United States Congress proposal that would impose a five-percent excise tax on non-US citizen cash remittances to the Philippines. If this becomes a law, OFWs in the US would be discouraged from sending money back home. This would impact the household level.
Our country, which is currently fourth in consistently receiving remittances, will have a broader impact. The top three countries that have over $200 billion in remittances are India, Mexico, and China. This proposed tax is introduced as “One Big Beautiful Bill” on May 12, 2025. If this is approved, it could siphon roughly $1.9 billion from OFW remittances. To put it in a better context, if one OFW sends $1,000 to his family, the equivalent in Philippine pesos is 54,210.
This is a big help to the family’s school and medical fees, groceries, bills, supplies, and more. It will certainly affect both the sender and the recipient. Economists add that with fewer remittances, there would be less spending, lower disposable income, and weaker consumption. And this can strain the relationship between families and OFWs. This disruption can also open doors for informal channels, posing greater financial risks.
Although there are other destinations abroad, the United States hosts the largest population of 4.6 million Filipinos, particularly in the states of California, New York, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii. This is followed by Canada with over 900,000 and Saudi Arabia with over 700,000 people from our country. This large contingent of OFWs contributes largely to the continued and sustained remittances through bank transfers, money transfer operators, mobile, and digital platforms.
I am hoping that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will take proactive actions because these remittances from our OFWs contribute approximately 8.8% to the Philippines’ GDP. This can potentially affect our economy. Thus, our leader should act prudently and not state retaliatory remarks as China did during the April 2 Liberation Day, causing a trade war between the two biggest economies. This is still in the process of becoming a law. Meanwhile, I urge the national leaders of improving our functional literacy programs as this issue of 18 million graduates who are deemed unable to comprehend despite having basic writing and reading skills can diminished interests of other countries who have great admiration for our previous and current OFWs who excel with knowledge and soft skills consist of outstanding communication, adaptability, empathy, problem-solving, cultural sensitivity, time management and resilience. And these strong remittances this quarter spotlights the growing potential of our current and future OFWs.
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S.I. Raffle is a dedicated Special Education Teacher empowering students with special needs through inclusive education. Outside the classroom, he finds solace in nature, K-dramas, and reading. Connect with him on X @siraffle or email: sirafflebox@gmail.com
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COMMENTARY | Strong remittances spotlight growing potential of OFWs
BY S.I. RAFFLE
In a report last March 2025, personal remittances from OFWs reached $3.13 billion. It shows that there is a sustained demand for Filipino labor abroad, especially in healthcare, engineering, and domestic work. This growth by 2.6 percent was driven by remittances from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and the United States.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) from Mindanao have an estimated 17.6% of the total OFW population in the Philippines. It means that with this growth, there will be more aspiring workers to chase their dreams abroad. The 2018 National Migration Survey showed that 11% of households in Davao City had an OFW family member. In addition, 16% of Davaoenos are planning to move and work in another country within the next five years, despite the lowest unemployment rate in Davao Region.
As the United States continues to experience a significant teacher shortage, Filipino teachers through the J-1 Visa Teacher Exchange Program are in high demand. These teachers who specialized in STEM, ESL, Foreign Languages, and Special Education received job offers in various school districts in America. They also contribute to the robust remittances for the country.
However, economists sounded an alarm recently over a United States Congress proposal that would impose a five-percent excise tax on non-US citizen cash remittances to the Philippines. If this becomes a law, OFWs in the US would be discouraged from sending money back home. This would impact the household level.
Our country, which is currently fourth in consistently receiving remittances, will have a broader impact. The top three countries that have over $200 billion in remittances are India, Mexico, and China. This proposed tax is introduced as “One Big Beautiful Bill” on May 12, 2025. If this is approved, it could siphon roughly $1.9 billion from OFW remittances. To put it in a better context, if one OFW sends $1,000 to his family, the equivalent in Philippine pesos is 54,210.
This is a big help to the family’s school and medical fees, groceries, bills, supplies, and more. It will certainly affect both the sender and the recipient. Economists add that with fewer remittances, there would be less spending, lower disposable income, and weaker consumption. And this can strain the relationship between families and OFWs. This disruption can also open doors for informal channels, posing greater financial risks.
Although there are other destinations abroad, the United States hosts the largest population of 4.6 million Filipinos, particularly in the states of California, New York, Illinois, Nevada, Texas, and Hawaii. This is followed by Canada with over 900,000 and Saudi Arabia with over 700,000 people from our country. This large contingent of OFWs contributes largely to the continued and sustained remittances through bank transfers, money transfer operators, mobile, and digital platforms.
I am hoping that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr will take proactive actions because these remittances from our OFWs contribute approximately 8.8% to the Philippines’ GDP. This can potentially affect our economy. Thus, our leader should act prudently and not state retaliatory remarks as China did during the April 2 Liberation Day, causing a trade war between the two biggest economies. This is still in the process of becoming a law. Meanwhile, I urge the national leaders of improving our functional literacy programs as this issue of 18 million graduates who are deemed unable to comprehend despite having basic writing and reading skills can diminished interests of other countries who have great admiration for our previous and current OFWs who excel with knowledge and soft skills consist of outstanding communication, adaptability, empathy, problem-solving, cultural sensitivity, time management and resilience. And these strong remittances this quarter spotlights the growing potential of our current and future OFWs.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
S.I. Raffle is a dedicated Special Education Teacher empowering students with special needs through inclusive education. Outside the classroom, he finds solace in nature, K-dramas, and reading. Connect with him on X @siraffle or email: sirafflebox@gmail.com
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