By Carmel Crimmins
Reuters
Last updated 08:45am (Mla time)
12/03/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Manila's malls are abuzz with Christmas carols and glitzy decorations but Marlene Isleta has little festive cheer.
A strong Philippine peso and a weak US dollar means that Isleta has less cash in her pocket after receiving the remittance money her husband, a waiter on a luxury cruise ship, sends her every month.
"The money is really tight. Christmas is just another day for me. I'll be hiding from my godchildren that day," she said, on a break from her office job in Manila's financial district.
Isleta's husband is one of an estimated eight million Filipinos, or around 10 percent of the population, who work overseas due to a lack of opportunities at home and whose remittances have driven the domestic economy to a 20-year high. [Read more]
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