Philippine Embassy in Japan trying to confirm reported arrest of another Filipino in Tokyo
The Philippine Embassy in Japan is trying to confirming the reported arrest of another Filipino over the discovery of the bodies of a Japanese couple last week in Tokyo.
This was disclosed by Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing on Tuesday after Hazel Ann Morales, a Filipina was arrested last week for allegedly abandoning the remains of a Japanese couple.
"There is news in Japan that is being verified by our Embassy about the second Filipino that was arrested after he was seen in the CCTV but it seems that he is not with Hazel," he said.
"For their sake, I will not speculate if they are partners," he added.
De Vega did not name the newly arrested Filipino while some Japanese news reports identified him as Bryan Jefferson Lising Dela Cruz, 34.
He did not give specific details about the content of the CCTV footage but he noted that Morales, reportedly the girlfriend of the son of the Japanese couple, is still under investigation after she was captured in the CCTV footage while allegedly disposing of bloodied clothes of the victims.
De Vega said the Japanese authorities had allowed consular access to visit Morales at the detention facility on Tuesday afternoon.
"We are ready to pay for legal assistance because the case was not yet filed against her. It's not in the court yet, If it is already filed in the court and there is a need for defense lawyer, it will be shouldered by the Philippine government and we will see what are the other assistance she needs," he said.
Despite the ongoing investigation, De Vega expressed hope that the charge against Morales will no longer reach a severe case that would warrant a life imprisonment or death penalty.
"Anything is possible. We are hoping that the case will not accelerate into a serious crime in case a charge is filed, because if it is just charges for abandonment, the penalty is not too high, it will only be around three-year of imprisonment. If they (Japanese authorities) collect evidence that will point her as an accomplice or her possible participation in the killing of the victims it might be life imprisonment or even death sentence, so that is what we are trying to avoid," he said.
"We are doing everything to prevent that from happening. We are hoping that they will only get a lighter offense or to prove their innocence we will know within the next week," he added. DMS
