Graham, We regularly transfer money to my wifes BDO account in the Philippines or her sisters account by using PNB Europe (Philippines National Bank). The charge is normally £5.50 but may be more for large sums. Once setup its very very quick and as far as i am aware about the cheapest way to transfer money to the Philippines.
Before that we were using a Caxton money card but then the banks in the Philippines introduced an extra 2.5 percent charge for using it at an ATM. Hope this helps the PNB website is
http://www.pnbeurope.com/