“The steady stream of remittances continued to emanate from the stable demand for professional and skilled Filipino workers worldwide as well as the wider access of overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to a broader array of products and services offered by banks to cater to the various needs of their clients,” said Amando Tetangco, governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP).

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) indicated that more than 70 per cent of the remittances were sent from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Italy, the remainder from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan.

In recent years, Arab countries have become magnets for Filipino workers. Between 2006 and 2009, the number of Filipino workers in the Middle East has grown by 30 per cent despite the risk of exploitation and abuse.

Fr Giulio Mariani, a PIME missionary in Zamboanga (Mindanao), said that higher remittances in May reflects the greater confidence created by the election of the new president, Beniño Aquino.

“After Aquino’s election, there is more optimism in the Philippines,” the clergyman said. “Higher remittances can be seen as a sign of hope and support for the new government by migrants who feel better about sending money home.”

The Philippines is the Asian country with the highest number of emigrants, with more than 10 million or about 9 per cent of the population, spread out in about 190 countries (70 per cent women).

Unemployment is the main cause, aggravated more recently by the global economic crisis. In 2009, about 2.72 million Filipinos lost their job.