My cousin and I came to America with his family in 2001. He came to seek a better life for his family while I came to create one. Both he and I would transfer money to the Philippines so our families could live “high on the hog” as some say.

After arriving I took a job that helped sponsor me for a working Visa. My cousin lucked out even more, he quickly earned two promotions promotions after his first year working. Unfortunately he lacked the confidence to ask his job to help with 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 of action. One thing I do know is that my wallet is surely paying the price since I’m now the one sending over money to the Philippines on both of our parts.

Money coming into the Philippines from other countries is quite important to the economy since it receives more money from remittance than from foreign investment yearly. So it’s no wonder money sent from abroad has a massive effect on the strength of the economy.

Many people wonder where exactly that money comes from. I’ll tell you – it’s from Filipino workers who live outside the country. It is a little known fact that 8% of the Filipino population currently works abroad doing migrant work.

In July 2008, the population was estimated at 96 million, and it’s shocking 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 into the country are such a huge factor on our family income. At one time the Philippines central bank expected remittance to reach $18.9 billion by the year 2009. However, this was 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 include people in the finance business. But those who do keep their jobs make good money and make up the population consistently sending money to the Philippines several times a year, regardless of the effect on our paychecks. Usually, we keep in mind to be thankful for being here with a job in the tough recession we are in.

William Gois, regional director for the group Migrant Forum, estimates money coming in from the U.S. to the Philippines will slide by 50% this year. Though it’s not an exact number but it’s still a high number. Regardless, I along with many others continue transferring 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 transferring money to the Philippines every month and am confident when I say I am hardly the only one.

Finding the best information about sending money to the Philippines can be overwhelming at times. One of the best places we found online to get the straight facts is send money to Philippines. Unique version for reprint here: Send Money To The Philippines Is A Way Migrant Workers Help Loved Ones.

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