Filipino families who receive more of them tend to be less poor compared to those who do not

Despite a worldwide economic downturn, reports have indicated that remittances sent to the Philippines from Filipinos working abroad did not go down. On a year-to-year comparison, there is a steady increase of the amount of money sent home by the OFWs.

In a statement released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, it reveals that "remittances from Filipino workers overseas continued to underpin the resilience of the economy, remaining a stable source of foreign exchange for the country.”

To back its report, the Central Bank looked at the figures collected in August 2009. “The total of $1.4 billion in August brought remittances for the first eight months of the year to $11.34 billion, a 3.7-percent increase from the same period last year,” the Central Bank report noted.

This surprising increase of remittances has been credited to steady deployment of Filipino workers abroad and the improved channels of transferring money from country to country. Plus we should remember that in the event of a foreign company’s downsizing, Filipino workers are more likely to stay in the job because of their specialized skills, quality of work, and loyalty to their employer.

On the other hand, the government had a bleak forecast over the amount of Filipino remittances, citing the current financial crisis that has shaken many financial institutions across the globe. But the opposite outcome took place.

In the aftermath of the two damaging typhoons (and another one is coming) that swept most parts of Luzon, it is expected that more money will be sent home to help flood victims, who have loved ones working abroad, to rebuild their lives.

One interesting fact is that foreign remittances have been used by an island province as its tool for poverty reduction.

Siquijor, an island province of six towns and and 134 barangays, has been recognized by the Human Development Network (HDN) as the most successful province in the Philippines in terms of “raising the quality of lives of its constituents.”

A research article by the Business World, citing a report from the HDN, revealed: “The island province, which has less than 100,000 population was able to increase its average per capita income — a measure of decent standard of living per province in 2006 by 43.6% from 2003 levels.”

An interview with Siquijor Congressman Orland Fua, Jr. was rather enlightening. Fua said that the province of Siquijor is aggressively sending out its people out to work abroad. The government’s stand on brain drain is not hostile, however. It supports to one theory stating that “Filipino families who receive more of them tend to be less poor compared to those who do not.”

Can Bohol duplicate the development strategy embraced by the province of Siquijor? Certainly it can especially that we have a bigger population than that of Siquijor. Bohol also has established schools that would help harness the skills of future workers.

Bohol can diversify its provincial development plan by not just relying on agriculture and tourism as economic boosters. Instead it should seek more ways on how to help its residents have a steady source of income. Definitely, sending more Boholanos abroad has a tangible impact on the economy of the province.

Since the province doesn’t have big companies that can serve as sources of employment, our provincial government should double its effort in helping find employment abroad for many unemployed Boholanos.