Japanese police rearrested two Filipinos on Friday, alleging they could be involved the death of a Japanese couple last January in Tokyo, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday.

In an interview with dzRH, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Japanese police have detained Hazel Ann Morales and Bryan Dela Cruz.

“The police have found evidence that they could be involved in the actual murder,” de Vega said. Prosecutors are investigating, he said.

“We will know by the end of March what are the final charges (against them). They were previously charged with abandonment ( of the body of the couple) and that’s just three years (of imprisonment). If they are charged with murder, they could face the death penalty,” de Vega added.

He said Morales was a permanent resident of Japan while dela Cruz is an overseas Filipino worker (OFW).

It can be recalled that Morales and Dela Cruz were caught on the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera getting out of the house where the bodies of Norihiro and Kimi Takahashi were found on January 16, Japan media reports said.

De Vega said they could help the families of the Filipino suspects to visit to their detention cell in Japan if the government would allow it.

He said the Philippine government was willing to provide legal aid to the suspects. Jaspearl Tan/DMS