Manila, Feb. 19 -- The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday expressed concern over the rising number of Filipinos leaving the Philippines to work for "Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGO)-like" companies in other Asian countries.

In a Palace press briefing, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval noted that around 118 Filipinos have been recruited to work in "scam hubs" posing as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

Sandoval said the scam hubs are targeting Filipinos working in the BPO and POGOs.

"Many of our kababayans (countrymen) are being tricked into joining and being part of these scam hubs," Sandoval said.

"We have noticed the trend [in] Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos. 'Yun po ilang mga bansa (These are some of the countries)...