RP's forex remittances

RP's forex remittances

MANILA (AFP): The foreign exchange remittances of Filipinos working abroad rose 33 percent on the previous year to US$5.7 billion in 1997, a legislator said yesterday.

Congressman Dante Liban said the remittances from an estimated 4.2 million overseas Filipinos accounted for about 5 percent of the country's gross national product (GNP).

"The remittances cushioned the economy from a full-blown currency crisis," Liban said in a statement, referring to the financial turmoil sweeping Asia since July.

The peso has lost more than 50 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar due to the crisis.