THE TRAVEL BAN ISSUE

Nigerian overseas workers: Yes, we still and must keep our jobs by all means for our families and most of all to sustain the economy of our beloved Philippines!

Most OFWs seen to keep jobs
By Ronnel Domingo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:50:00 01/27/2009
Filed Under: Overseas Employment, Unemployment, World Financial Crisis

MANILA, Philippines—Most overseas Filipino workers will keep their jobs amid a global meltdown, with remittances expected to continue to buoy the Philippine economy this year, according to economist Bernardo M. Villegas.
Villegas, former dean of the School of Economics at the University of Asia and the Pacific, told executives of life insurance firms Tuesday that OFW remittances would have “no significant reduction” this year, projecting it to reach $16 billion.
“OFWs in general will not lose their jobs because there is strong demand for them, and many of them work in the services sectors,” Villegas said during a meeting of the Philippine Life Insurance Association at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Money sent in by OFWs stimulate the local economy as it perks up consumer spending .
Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that, as of the end of November, remittances have reached $15 billion.
In the 11 months to November, remittances averaged at least $1.26 billion a month.
The professor said families of OFWs would also benefit from the depreciation of the peso, which would hover at P50 to P51 against the US dollar.
Also, Villegas projected that inflation, or the rate of increase in consumer prices, would simmer down to an average of 4.9 percent this year from the estimated 9.7 percent in 2008.
For the financial sector, this would redound to a decrease in lending rates for the benchmark 91-day treasury bill to 4.8 percent from 5.8 percent last year.
“The gross domestic product will grow at between 3.8 percent and 4.5 percent this year,” he added.
GDP is the total value of goods produced and services rendered within an economy in a given period.
Villegas said GDP growth would keep its momentum from his estimate of 4.5 percent for 2008.
Still, Villegas said, the Philippine economy faces threats from a slowdown in consumer spending and exports, higher government deficit, higher trade deficit and a depreciating peso.