At least 16 Filipinos have been arrested since January for trying to smuggle drugs into China, Hong Kong and Macau, prompting the Philippine government to renew a warning that traffickers can face the death penalty, an official said Sunday.

Last year, 111 Filipinos, mostly women, were arrested in those destinations for drug-related offenses?a huge jump from 16 in 2007, Philippine Ambassador to China Sonia Brady said.

Of those taken into custody the last two years, 22 have been sentenced to death and 12 to life in prison. Others received shorter sentences, she said.

?The arrest of 16 Filipinos in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau in a span of two months this year is very alarming,? Brady said in a statement.

The Foreign Affairs Department repeated earlier warnings to Filipino travelers against trying to take illegal drugs into China even in small amounts.

Last month, a US State Department report said the Philippines continues to face an ?immense? drug problem despite efforts to disrupt major trafficking syndicates and dismantle clandestine drug labs.

Corruption among law enforcers and officials and vast stretches of unpatrolled coastline make the country an attractive narcotics source and transshipment point. AP