NEWSFLASH

---

OVERSEAS WORKERS: ECONOMIC REDEEMERS

Manila, Feb. 9, 1998 - The Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) continue to be a saving grace for the Philippine economy by keeping the country afloat with their dollar remittances to the Philippines. The foreign exchange remittances are expected to reach the $6-billion mark this year.

Their remittances account for 5 per cent of the expected 5.7 per cent Gross National Product growth for year 1997.

The high rate of the dollar against the sagging peso has encouraged the OFWs to send more US dollars to their families back home. According to the Philippine Overseas Employment Association (POEA), the dollar remittances coming mostly from domestic workers abroad, in real terms, would be the solution to the currency turmoil gripping the Philippines and the rest of Southeast Asia.

---