MANILA, Feb. 8 -- Another batch of illegal aliens involved in illicit Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) was deported by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

In a news release Saturday, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the recent deportees consisted of 23 Chinese nationals and three Malaysians, who boarded Philippine Airlines and Malaysian Airlines flights, respectively, on Friday night.

He said the 26 deportees were part of the 450 foreign nationals apprehended in January for violating Philippine immigration laws, particularly POGO-related scams.

The day before, the BI reported 57 foreign nationals, were deported from Jan. 31 to Feb. 5 -- 46 Chinese, seven Myanmar nationals, three Vietnamese and one Malaysian.

"We are res...