Across Asia: Philippines

Remittances rise

Millions of Filipinos abroad sent home $1.44 billion in September, up 8.6 percent from a year ago as continued strong global demand for Philippine labor boosted remittances, the central bank said yesterday. The September figure brought total remittances for the first nine months to $12.79 billion, up 4.2 percent from the same period last year. The bank said remittances could rise further in the near term because massive damage from recent back-to-back typhoons could encourage overseas workers to send more money to their families.