MANILA, Philippines -- Woo the mother and abuse the child.

This is the new modus operandi of pedophiles who have been targeting Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, as their area of operation, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has warned.

?The child molesters usually meet the mothers, sometimes even the grandmothers, of possible victims online and make them their girlfriends,? BI Commissioner Marcelino Libanan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Monday.

The women usually let the economically better-off foreigners into their lives and their homes, not knowing that the men would later pounce on their young daughters or sons.

Libanan said that the British government earlier this year asked the bureau for assistance in apprehending pedophiles possibly hiding in the country.

?The United Kingdom alone has 30,000 recorded convicted pedophiles,? the BI chief said.

Five suspected pedophiles, all British nationals, were the focus of the bureau's intensive manhunt last May, Libanan said.

Libanan identified the Britons as Kriss McCord, Barry Raymond Edwards, Robert Donaghy, Desmond Graham Kelly and Paul Francis Gadd.

?All five suspects are wanted here and abroad for sexually abusing and molesting children,? he said in a statement.

Libanan also asked the public to help the bureau locate the fugitives. He said informants could call the bureau?s 24-hour hotline at tel. no. 524-37-69 (for Metro Manila) and toll-free 1-800-100-ALIENS or 2542 67 (outside Metro Manila).

?I have already issued the mission orders for their arrest,? Libanan said, adding that the foreigners were all believed to be hiding in the provinces.

The BI chief also welcomed earlier reports of a possible extradition treaty being forged between the Philippines and Great Britain. He said the pact would boost efforts in hunting down and apprehending the pedophiles.

BI records showed that the bureau already arrested and deported five suspected foreign pedophiles since late 2007

Two of the sex offenders, Frederick Dipasquale and Reynaldo Estillore, are US nationals wanted for molesting children in their home country.

Masaichi Suzuki, a Japanese national, was also apprehended by BI operatives for operating a nightclub in Ermita, Manila, where young Filipino girls employed as guest relations officers were allegedly forced into prostitution.

Another Japanese suspected pedophile, Yukitoshi Matsushita, was deported last January after serving his sentence for raping an eight-month-old girl in Parañaque City more than six years ago.

The bureau also deported Rudolf Keikut, a suspected German pedophile, for sexually molesting his adopted daughter.