Despite the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic restricting economic activity, the Philippines posted an overall balance of payments (BoP) surplus of $2.1 billlion in September, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSPP.

The month’s surplus figure brings this year’s nine-month BoP figure to $6.9 billion, which is better than the $5.6-billion surplus registered in the same period last year.

With that development, BSP central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno declared in a virtual press briefing on Friday that the worst is over for the country’s external accounts position.

“It was like night and day, which suggest that the worst is over,” he added.

“The current BoP surplus was supported mainly by higher net foreign borrowings by the national government, lower merchandise trade deficit, overseas Filipino remittances and FDIs (foreign direct investments),” Diokno said.

“The altruistic impulse of Overseas Filipino to remit more to their families for basic sustenance and other immediate needs in times of crisis is expected to continue, particularly when labor conditions start to recover,” he added.

Overseas Filipinos remitted through banks $2.6 billion in September, or a 9.3-percent improvement from last year’s figure. For the first nine months of the current year, the figure is $21.9 billion, which is only 1.4-percent less from the same period last year or $22.2 billion.

The BSP governor added net FDI inflows continued to increase, reaching $637 million in August or by 46.9 percent from $434 million a year ago. In the first eight months of the year, FDI net inflows amounted to $4.4 billion, or slightly less than the $4.7 billion registered in the same period in 2019.

“Behind this development was the increase in net equity capital investments, which posted a cumulative growth of 99.6 percent to $1.1 billion from $550 million in the same period in 2019,” he said.