My cousin and I came to America with his family in 2001. He came looking for a better life for his family while I came to create one. Both he and I transferred money to the Phillipines in order for our families to live “high on the hog” as some say.
Upon arrival I took a job that helped me to get a working Visa. My cousin lucked out even more, he earned two quick promotions after his first year of work. Unfortunately he was too afraid to ask his job to help him get a Visa. To no surprise he was caught and advised to plead for voluntary departure, which may or may not have been the best plan. One thing I do know is that my wallet is the one paying for it since I’m now the one who will send money to the Philippines on both of our parts.
Money being transferred into the Philippines from other countries is very important to the economy since it receives more money from remittance than from foreign investment on a yearly basis. So it’s understandable that money shipped in has a massive effect on the strength of the economy.
Many people are curious about where exactly that money comes from. I’ll tell you – it’s from Filipino workers like me who live outside the country. It is a little known fact that 8% of the Filipino population is currently working abroad doing migrant work.
In July 2008, the population was estimated at 96 million, and it’s astounding that 45% of those people live on less than two US dollars a day! That’s why it’s no surprise that those of us wiring money are such a huge factor on our family income. At one point in time the Philippines central bank expected remittance to reach $18.9 billion by the year 2009. However, before Wall Street’s collapse last year.
The Department of Labor and Employment estimates that 50,000 Filipinos living in the U.S. have either lost or are in the process of losing their job this year. Many of those are in the finance business. But those who do hold on to their job make decent money and are part of the population consistently wiring money to the Philippines several times a year, despite the effect on our paychecks. Usually, we keep in mind to be thankful for being here and having a job in the tough recession we face.
William Gois, regional director for the group Migrant Forum, estimates money wired from the U.S. to the Philippines will slide by 50% this year. It is not an exact number but it’s still a shocking number. Regardless, I along with many others continue sending money to the Philippines using all possible methods – banks, wire services and re-usable debit cards.
Regardless of the state of the economy or my bank account, I continue to transfer to the Philippines monthly and am confident when I say I am hardly the only one.
