While the economy has been largely spared from the aftershocks of the credit crunch, the eight million workers abroad could find themselves vulnerable to the crisis, said Foreign Undersecretary Esteban Conejos.

He said the contingency, which is to be completed next week, could include extending micro financing to displaced workers and providing them an alternative source of livelihood.

President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the foreign department, as well as labour and employment agencies to put in place a plan to cushion the effects of a prolonged global recession on overseas workers, Mr Conejos said.

'We still don't know the extent or the effect of this (crisis),' Mr Conejos told the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines.

He said Philippine embassies abroad have been asked to monitor economic developments in their areas and submit specific measures to protect Filipino migrants.

The crisis could lead to a loss of jobs and a drop in dollar remittances that have for years kept the economy afloat, he said.

It could also lead to a spike in the number of undocumented Filipino workers abroad, with many of those displaced going through illegal channels in a bid to prolong their stay abroad, he added.

Of particular concern is the Philippines' vast numbers of unskilled workers, including tens of thousands employed as maids in households from Hong Kong and Singapore to the Middle East and the United States, he said.

'The most vulnerable would be the low skilled workers, our domestic helpers,' Mr Conejos said.

'With a prolonged recession, households would not have the necessary income to support or maintain the services of our domestic workers.

'We have to create alternative sources of income for our domestic workers who will be displaced as a result of this crisis,' Mr Conejos said.

The Philippines is the world's fourth biggest source of migrant workers, with about eight million employed in more than 200 countries.

While many work in the construction, health and maritime sectors, the country sends about 100,000 maids abroad each year, Conejos said.

Last year, Filipino workers sent home more than US$14 billion (S$20 billion), which contributed 10 per cent of the country's gross domestic product. -- AFP