ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider DFA exec says charges vs two Pinoys over Tokyo couple's death out by March 23

DFA exec says charges vs two Pinoys over Tokyo couple's death out by March 23

Published Mar 11, 2024 10:03 am

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) revealed on Monday, March 11, that the two Filipinos rearrested over the death of an elderly Japanese couple in January could face double murder charges, depending on the results of the investigation.


 De Vega_DFA.jpgForeign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega (Photo courtesy of Presidential Communications Office)

 

DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo De Vega said during the Bagong Pilipinas briefing that investigators are expected to release the final charges for the Filipinos around March 23.
 

“So malalaman natin roughly March [unclear] bago matapos ang buwan kung ano ang huling desisyon ng piskalya at kung sasampahan sila ng kaso na double murder (So, we will know roughly March [unclear] before the end of the month what will be the final decision of the fiscal and if they will be charged with double murder),” he explained.
 

The official assured that the Philippine government is ready to assist the two Filipinos because double murder is a “serious crime” and not just a consular, legal, or labor offense. 

“May political issue din ito kung kailangan (There is political issue here, too, if needed),” he added, “At kaibigan naman natin iyong bansa, iyong Japan ‘no (And Japan is our friend).”
 

Citing local news sources, De Vega said there are new pieces of evidence against the Filipinos.
 

“Ang ebidensiya raw, according to newspapers is iyong DNA ng dalawa, nakita sa residence, at iyong sa babae pa nga kasama pa raw sa murder weapon nung nakita, kutsilyo (The evidence, according to newspapers, is the DNA of the two were found in the residence, and the woman’s DNA was in the murder weapon, the knife),” he added.
 

The DFA official also quoted Japanese media that there was a CCTV footage of the Filipina buying daggers or knives before the incident happened, but lamented that there were already misinformation about the incident on social media and even among Filipinos in Japan and the Philippines.
 

He clarified that contrary to some claims being made in social media, the two Filipinos have not admitted to the crime.
 

And while De Vega said the Philippine government will not condone the Filipinos acts if they are proven guilty of the crime, he assured that they will provide assistance to them and advised Filipinos abroad to follow and respect laws.
 

“Kailangan sumunod sila sa local laws at huwag makipag-away o huwag saktan iyong mga local citizens; hindi natin teritoryo po iyon (They need to follow local laws and not fight with or not hurt the local citizens; that’s not our territory),” he stressed.
 

Japanese media outlets identified the Filipinos as Bryan Jefferson Lising dela Cruz, 34, and Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, 30.
 

Dela Cruz is an overseas worker while Morales is a permanent resident in Japan.
 

In late January 2024, they were arrested separately for abandoning the bodies of the Japanese couple—Norihiro Takahashi and his wife Kimie—who were earlier reported as missing.
 

The couple were found dead inside their residence in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, and it is believed that they have died due to multiple stab wounds.
 

Morales and Dela Cruz were rearrested on March 1 for murder and breaking into a residence.

Related Tags

Japanese couple Department of Foreign Affairs Double murder Eduardo De Vega
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.