If you ever given the chance to go overseas to work as an OFW, I suggest that always ask for a salary paid in US Dollars and not on the local currency. This will keep you in a much safer financial status when sending back your remittance to the Philippines regardless of local currency rates.
The reckoning currency of the Philippine peso and all other currencies is the US dollar. If your salary is in US dollar and not in other local currencies then the effect of forex fluctuation on you is lesser.
Let us compare the forex in 01 August 2008 before the meltdown to the forex today 14 January 2009. Assuming that you were offered a USD 1,000 equivalent in local currency before the economic meltdown.
| Country | 01 Aug 2008 | 14 Jan 2009 | % Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 3.74830 | 3.74865 | 0.01% ($0.09) |
| Canada | 1.02341 | 1.02341 | 16.27% ($162.66) |
| Australia | 1.48728 | 1.05942 | 28.77% ($287.68) |
| New Zealand | 1.78779 | 1.36236 | 23.80% ($237.96) |
| Taiwan | 33.24049 | 30.681 | 7.70%   ($77.00) |
In the above comparison, you are most affected when you are working in Australia. A US$1,000 salary pre-melt down will now only be US$712 at this time.
You are lucky if you are working in Saudi Arabia as the SAR : USD forex is negligible.