OFW

BSP data show June cash remittances rose just 1.7% year-on-year — the weakest growth since February 2022 — as analysts point to Middle East geopolitical uncertainty and elevated living costs abroad, even as inflation at home stayed above target for a fourth straight month.

In a newly published book, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas says a weak industrial base, underdeveloped agriculture and heavy import dependence are eroding the buffers — remittances and BPO exports — that have long masked the country's persistent goods trade deficit, even as the current account gap narrowed to $16.3 billion in 2025.

Sara Duterte's "it's very easy to send a plane" comparison between COVID charters and war-zone repatriation went viral — and deserved the mockery. But the laughter shouldn't let the Marcos administration off the hook: over 2,000 repatriation requests, roughly 60 people actually home.