MANILA - FILIPINO workers abroad sent US$1.43 billion (S$2.11 billion) home in October, the second-largest amount in a single month since records began, the central bank said on Monday.

It The bank said in the 10 months to October, the eight million Filipinos working abroad remitted a total US$13.71 billion, up 16 per cent from the year-earlier total of US$11.87 billion.

The amount of funds sent home by workers in October was 3.3 per cent higher than the US$1.39 billion for the same period last year. The Figure is the second highest since the bank began keep records in 1989.

The standing record is US$1.45 billion dollars remitted in June this year.

This comes despite widespread fears that the global financial turmoil would force the layoff of many Filipinos working overseas.

'The steady flow of remittances from overseas Filipinos, which has stayed above the one-billion-dollar level for more than two years now, shows that remittances remain resilient and continue to be an underlying source of strength for the economy,' central bank governor Amando Tetangco said.

'Sustained demand for highly skilled, better-paid Filipino professional workers, combined with the wider access by overseas Filipinos and their beneficiaries to expanded remittance transfer facilities, continued to support... remittances,' Mr Tetangco was quoted as saying.

The central bank also cited other government data showing that during the first ten months of 2008, the number of Filipino workers employed abroad rose by 25.5 percent to 1,115,199.

'While there could be a slowdown in the rate of deployment as a result of global financial strains, this could be moderated by employment opportunities,' in other areas such as Canada, the Middle East and South Australia, which have all expressed the need for more skilled workers, the central bank said.

For years, the vast army of workers has managed to keep the Philippine economy afloat with their remittances. Last year they sent home US$14.4 billion, equivalent to 10 per cent of gross domestic product.

Manila is projecting remittances to exceed US$15 billion dollars, but has said the crisis could make the figure difficult to achieve. -- AFP