Well I received lots of email from other ofw regarding the alleged 15% tax on all money to be sent thru Western Union or Cebuana Lhuillier, and others. Well I just called Western Union and they have informed me, that it is not 15% but 0.15% and they call it documentary Tax. Theyt will start implementing it on May,2008.
so the next time you will receive an email like this :

Hi Everyone,
I am curently on vacation here in the Philippines and it happened that I asked somebody to send me moneythrough …

i would like to extend my condolences to the family of Ramilo Olaya, 29 Years old. who works in Dubai. I just heard the news from TV Patrol. He died due to the explosion of a fire cracker building in dubai. Again my condolences.

I just read a news article at www.manilatimes.net that RP enjoys dollar surplus
BUOYED by strong remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), export receipts and foreign investments, the country enjoyed a dollar surplus in the first two months of the year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said Monday.
BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said the country’s balance of payments (BOP) at end-February registered a surplus of $1.257 billion, lower than the $1.285-billion surplus in the same period last year.
In February alone, the surplus however surged to $1.041 …

Received from Email :
Beloved People of God:
Our Holy Father in his most recent letter to us reminds us of the gift of faith and hope: that when we believe, we hope; and that when we hope, we live differently (see Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, November 30, 2007, no. 2). These convictions on faith and hope set the tone of our own letter to you in the present pastoral situation.
The Darkness of Our Situation—the Common Good Subordinated
For we live today as a people almost without hope, it would seem. We look …

INQUIRER.net DUBAI – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo launched here on 27 January a hedging program of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to protect the earnings of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) against fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, particularly in the strong peso.
Speaking before the Filipino community, the President said she met earlier with top employers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who have expressed their willingness to help the OFWs relative to the DBP’s hedging program.
"In order to mitigate the effects of the …

Philippine consul general to Jeddah Ezzedin Tago met with representatives of Filipino communities Friday to establish close partnership for effective consular services.
"We are not able to do everything; we are not Superman so we wish for your help and cooperation," Tago told leaders of Filipino communities during the meeting.
Over a hundred Filipino workers belonging to various groups in Jeddah attended the meeting.
Tago asked expatriates to give feedback to improve the foreign post’s services.
Philippine foreign mission officials who attended the meeting were Consul Jacob, Labor Attaché Bulyok Nilong, Haj Attaché …

By Margaux Ortiz Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:11:00 01/24/2008
MANILA, Philippines — Their skills are honed in some of the world’s most complex enterprises, but when they come home, these overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) engage in businesses far from their expertise and many end up losers.
The common lament is that there are just no opportunities here, or if there are, little is known about the places where these engineers and technicians may fit in.
A newly formed group calling itself the Global Filipino Nation …

Source : philstar.com
By Iris C.Gonzales
The peso is expected to sustain its strength in 2008 due to hefty dollar inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the general weakness of the dollar, Banco de Oro (BDO) said in a report.
BDO expects the peso to appreciate to as high as 38 to $1 or to a range of between 38-48 against the dollar next year.
It also expects the benchmark 91-day Treasury bill (T-bill) to record an average rate of 3.875 percent next year or to range from 3.5 …

Original post from http://www.philstar.com By Iris C. Gonzales
The Department of Finance (DOF) will implement several key measures to help overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and exporters cope with the  continued appreciation of the peso against the dollar. Exporters and OFWs have been complaining of the steady rise of the peso against the greenback as this diminishes the value of their dollar earnings. he peso has been constantly appreciating against the dollar on the back of hefty inflows from OFWs. On Wednesday, it closed at  41.31, its highest …

Filipino drive for boycott gains ground
By MANDEEP SINGH Gulf Daily News
THERE is a mixed reaction among Bahrain’s Filipino community about a proposed regional boycott to remit currency home for two days next week. The call is being made through the Internet and by word of mouth after it was initiated by the UAE and Saudi Arabia-based Filipino organisations.
They are asking their compatriots all over the Gulf, including Bahrain, to join them in the two-day boycott.
“Though this is a bid to send a strong message to our government to …