Newly released national income accounts (NIA) figures show that overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) remittances are once again instrumental in economic growth. But the case of Marilou Ranario highlights the sacrifices OFWs make for such “growth,” according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

BY IBON FOUNDATION
Posted by Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 44, December 9-15,2007

Newly released national income accounts (NIA) figures show that overseas Filipino workers’ (OFWs) remittances are once again instrumental in economic growth. But the case of Marilou Ranario highlights the sacrifices OFWs make for such “growth,” according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

According to the NIA figures, gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter grew by 6.6 percent, higher than the 5.1 percent recorded in the same quarter last year. The 3rd quarter growth figures were less spectacular compared to other countries in the region, and government admitted that the growth was driven mainly by increased household spending, which was likely spurred by the influx of remittances from the country’s nine million OFWs. The Net Factor Income from Abroad, which includes OFWs remittances, grew by a record 25.2 percent during the survey quarter, the highest since 2003.

On the production side, growth continued to be driven by the services sector, which is mainly call centers and other business process outsourcing. Meanwhile, the growth of the vital manufacturing sector continued to slow, hitting 3.3 percent this quarter from 4.4 percent in the same period last year. Although the industry sector also recorded growth, it was driven mainly by speculation in the mining and construction sectors.

Since the fundamental weaknesses in the domestic economy remain, it should not be surprising that the majority of Filipinos continue to be skeptical of government economic hype. According to the IBON October 2007 nationwide survey, three-fourths of total respondents said they did not believe there was truth to government’s pronouncements that the economy is improving. Similarly, half of total respondents said their livelihoods had worsened compared to last year. IBON Foundation/posted by Bulatlat

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