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Filipina arrested in Japan denies involvement in killing of Japanese couple: DFA

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Joyce Balancio, ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Filipina who was arrested in Tokyo last week continues to deny that she is involved in the killing of two Japanese nationals found in a house in Tokyo, Japan, the Department of Foreign affairs (DFA) said Monday.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/21/24/government-to-assist-filipina-arrested-in-tokyo-dmw">Government to assist Filipina arrested in Tokyo: DMW</a></li></ul>DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega refused to disclose the identity of the said Filipina, but Japanese media Kyodo News earlier reported that it was Hazel Anne Morales who was arrested in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward for being a suspect after abandoning the dead bodies. Contrary to some reports and posts on social media, the Filipina suspect maintains that she has nothing to do with the crime, De Vega said. “Kaka-report lang ni ambassador sa akin ngayon [Monday afternoon]. The consul general told me na iyong ating suspect continues to deny involvement. So, [she] denies involvement,” De Vega told ABS-CBN News. “DFA at embahada ginagamit lang nila official sources, at wala kaming sources na nagsabi na umamin siya. At kausap ko ang nanay niya kanina sabi wala siyang inamin,” he added. The 30-year old Filipina suspect is a permanent resident of Japan who is separated from her husband, a Japanese national. The dead couple are her new partner’s parents, De Vega said. “Hindi asawa, pero she has a boyfriend. It is a family issue but it doesn’t mean na pinatay niya. Kasi baka may money issue diyan between the son and the parents. Well, I don’t want to speculate further,” he said. Currently the Filipina is under “pre-indictment detention” at the Senju Metropolitan Police Station and no formal charges have been filed yet against her.“Ang Japanese system doon sa preliminary investigation, meaning bago pa bigyan ng formal charge, we will show you the evidence. Ganyan kasi. what they want is a shortcut na umamin ka na kung andoon na ang evidence. Hanap ng paraan na mas mababa ang makuha mong charge,” he said further. If the Filipina will be charged and eventually convicted in the “minor charge” of abandonment, jail time will only be up to three years, De Vega said. “Kung walang makitang ebidensya [eh di mapapalaya]., pero kung may ebidensya na abandonment, well, she needs to face the charges. Pero hindi iyan matagal na preso, hindi iyan matagal na criminal sentence na hindi 10 or 20 years hindi ganoon,” he said. As of posting time, the DFA has not yet established a direct communication to the Filipina suspect, but is working to have access to her as soon as possible. “We have no consular access yet. Nakausap ko iyong nanay dito sa Pilipinas, and we assured them that we will give legal assistance. Pero as I said kanina, magkakaroon na tayo ng opportunity kasi mabibigyan na sila ng consular access para mabisita sa pre-indictment,” De Vega said. “Kung kailangan ng private laywer, lalo na kung malaki ang kaso ay we will provide legal assistance na gastos ng gobyerno,” he added. De Vega advises the public to refrain from sharing fake news on social media as this can affect the resolution of the case.“Iyong mga tsismis sa Tiktok na umamin siya na pumatay siya, ay wag po natin palabasin because kasi alam namin na wala siyang inaamin. Kung papalabasin natin iyon tapos sinusubaybayan ng Japanese authorities iyon, eh hindi iyon makakatulong sa kanya,” he stressed. RELATED VIDEO<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2936664" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Contrary to some reports and posts on social media, the Filipina suspect maintains that she has nothing to do with the crime, De Vega said.

Filipina arrested in Japan denies involvement in killing of Japanese couple: DFA

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Filipina arrested in Japan denies involvement in killing of Japanese couple: DFA

Joyce Balancio,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 22, 2024 06:53 PM PHT

Read More:

Japan

Tokyo

crime

killing

DFA

Hazel Anne Morales

Japanese

Department of Foreign Affairs

ANC

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