Efforts to improve how overseas Filipino workers send money home remain a priority for the Department of Migrant Workers, even as a newly imposed 1% tax on remittances sent from the United States introduces fresh uncertainty for migrant households.
Officials said there is still no clear basis to measure how the tax might alter remittance behavior. Speaking during a January 12 press briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Office at Malacañang, Migrant Workers Officer-in-Charge and Undersecretary Bernard P. Olalia noted that available figures do not yet reflect any disruption tied to the policy. He pointed instead to a longer-term pattern showing continued growth in money sent by Filipinos working abroad.
Government data underscore that trend. Figures released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that remittances reached $3.171 billion in October 2025, marking a 3% increase from $3.079 billion recorded in the same month a year earlier.
Alongside monitoring global policy changes, the DMW said its current focus is on helping workers and their families make better use of remittance channels so that funds reach households more efficiently and support daily needs and longer-term financial stability.
