MANILA - MONEY sent home by Filipinos working abroad rose 30 per cent in June from a year earlier to US$1.5 billion (S$2.1 billion), the Philippine central bank said on Friday.

This brought inflows for the first six months of the year to US$8.2 billion, the bank said in a statement.

The central bank expects overseas worker remittances to hit a record US$15.9 billion this year, up 10 per cent from 2007.

More than eight million Filipinos, out of a population of 90 million, work abroad.

Their remittances are a major source of foreign exchange and are a significant contributor to the country's gross national product. -- AFP