The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said the Filipina who was arrested in Tokyo last week insisted she was not involved in the killing of two Japanese nationals found in a house in Japan’s capital.
DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega did not disclose the identity of the Filipina, but Japanese media Kyodo News earlier reported that Hazel Anne Morales was arrested in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward for supposedly
abandoning the dead bodies.
Contrary to some reports and posts on social media, De Vega said the Filipina suspect maintains that she has nothing to do with the crime.
“The ambassador reported to me . . . The consul general told me that the Filipina suspect continues to deny involvement. So, [she] denies involvement,” De Vega said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
“DFA and the embassy only use official sources, and we don’t have sources that say she confessed. And I was talking to his mother earlier and she said she didn’t admit anything,” he added.
The 30-year-old Filipina is a permanent resident of Japan who is separated from her husband, a Japanese national.
The dead couple is her new partner’s parents, De Vega said.
“Not a wife, but she has a boyfriend. It is a family issue but it doesn’t mean that he killed them. Because there might be a money issue 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.
“The Japanese system in the preliminary investigation, meaning before a formal charge is given, we will show you the evidence. That’s how it is. What they want is a shortcut to confess if the evidence is there.
Find a way to get a lower charge,” the DFA official said.
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.
“If there is no evidence [she will be released]., but if there is evidence of abandonment, well, she needs to face the charges. But that’s not a long prison term, that’s not a long criminal sentence that’s not 10 or 20 years, it’s not like that,” he explained.
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. I talked to her mother here in the Philippines, and we assured them that we will give legal assistance.
But as I said earlier, we will have an opportunity because they will be given consular access to visit the pre-indictment,” De Vega said.
“If a private lawyer is needed, especially if the case is big, we will provide legal assistance at the expense of the government,” he added.
De Vega appealed to the public to stop from sharing fake news on social media as this can affect the resolution of the case.
“The rumors on Tiktok that she confessed, that she killed, let’s not release them because we know that she is not admitting anything. If we release that and then the Japanese authorities monitor it, that won’t
help her,” he said.