Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have eased the impact of the U.S. financial crisis on the Philippine economy, local media reported on Sunday.
Diwa Guinigundo, deputy governor of the Philippine central bank, said the OFWs' foreign-exchange remittances have buttressed the local economy even as the global financial markets reeled from the effects of the U.S. subprime crisis, the Philippine Star reported.
The U.S. downturn has left giant institutions shuddering, including investment banks Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, and insurance giant American International Group.
"OFWs are now saving and investing their hard-earned money which helps generate economic activity," Guinigundo said.
"Instead of buying expensive iPods, OFWs are now engaged in small-scale businesses," Gunigundo said, adding that the impending mass layoffs in the United States are unlikely to affect Filipino workers, who are mostly nurses and caregivers.
"The U.S. government, despite a recession, will continue to cure and take care of the sick and the old people and that's where the caregivers and nurses will fill the need," he said.
There are more than 8 million Filipinos working overseas, whose remittances back home act as a cornerstone of the Philippine economy. This year's remittances are expected to exceed the central bank's target of 15.7 billion U.S. dollars.
Source:Xinhua
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