Romualdez: High hopes for PBBM US visit
NEW YORK CITY — SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez is set to join the visit to the United States (US) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. who will participate in the 77th United Nations (UN) General Assembly here.
Romualdez said Sunday he has high hopes for the success of the visit, coming as it does after President Marcos’ recent successful trip to Indonesia and Singapore, which resulted in more than $14 billion in supply and investment pledges from Indonesian and Singaporean businessmen.
“I expect the US visit to reap a lot of benefits for our country and the more than four million Filipinos and Filipino-Americans living or working in America,” Romualdez said.
The Speaker said the US is also a significant source of investments.
After all, the US is the Philippines’ major trading and economic cooperation partner and ally, he said.
The US is also the biggest source of remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipino-Americans, Romualdez added.
“They contribute a significant part to the amount of foreign exchange our country and economy need each year, and especially this year when we are recovering from the crippling COVID-19 pandemic,” he stressed.
According to the latest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) report, remittances from Filipinos working abroad increased by 2.3 percent year-on-year to reach $3.17 billion in July from $3.17 billion in the same month of 2021.
The United States remained the biggest source of cash remittances followed by Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.
According to the BSP forecast, remittances from overseas Filipinos is expected to grow by 4% this year and the next, owing to greater deployment as restrictions worldwide continue to relax.
The BSP also said OFWs sent home a record $31.4 billion in cash remittances last year.
Of that amount, 40.5 percent, or $12.7 billion, was remitted from the US. The other major sources of cash inflow are Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Taiwan, Qatar, and South Korea.
