Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega (PNA photo by Robert Oswald Alfiler)
MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is verifying a report on the arrest of a second Filipino in Japan in connection with the discovery of two bodies inside a Tokyo home.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega also asked the public to refrain from speculating about the incident involving a 30-year-old Filipino woman as investigation into the incident is ongoing.
"By the way po pala, meron ding lumabas na balita, chine-check pa ng embassy ang balita sa Japan na may hinuling pangalawang Pilipino. Pangalawang Pilipino na nakita rin sa CCTV pero hindi — tilang hindi naman magkasama dito sa… so tinitignan nila kung ano talaga 'yung mga anggulo (The embassy is verifying reports that there is another Filipino arrested in Japan. The second one was apparently seen from a CCTV but doesn't seem to be a companion of the first, but the different angles in this incident is still being looked into)," he said in a Bagong Pilipinas briefing aired over People's Television Network Tuesday.
Japanese authorities arrested the Filipino woman on suspicion of abandoning the bodies of Norihiro Takahashi and his wife, Kimie, and not because she is facing murder charges, De Vega said.
“Nakikita namin na maraming nagse-speculate, maraming nagsasabi na siya ay guilty, ganyan. ‘Wag nating gawin 'yan kasi hindi pa siya ina-akusa (We can see that many are speculating, many are saying that she is guilty. Let's not do that because she hasn't been accused yet),” De Vega added.
"'Pag ikaw ay may nakitang patay or bangkay na tao tapos iniwanan mo lang na hindi mo ni-report sa pulis, pwede kang kasuhan ng abandonment dahil maaring kasabwat ka sa pagpatay. Pero hindi ibig-sabihin na murder case (If you see a dead person and then you just leave it without reporting it to the police, you can be charged with abandonment because you may be complicit in the murder. But that doesn't mean it's a murder case),” De Vega said.
De Vega said the Philippine government is willing to provide legal assistance to the Filipino, who is a legal resident of Japan and not an overseas worker. (Lalaine Junio, trainee/PNA)
