2 Filipinos in Japan rearrested for murder

The two Filipinos who were detained in Japan for abandoning the bodies of a dead couple were rearrested on Saturday.

GMA News Online spoke with Department of Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega who confirmed the rearrest, adding the two Filipinos were now being investigated for murder.

"We will see in the next few weeks what will be the final charges to be filed against them," he said via text message.

He noted that the Philippine Embassy was in touch with the authorities as they were also ready to continue assisting the Filipinos.

De Vega clarified that “rearrested” meant the two were undergoing a new criminal investigation for a separate crime.

In a CCTV footage, the two Filipinos were seen coming out of the house where the couple, Norihiro and Kimi Takahashi, were found dead on January 16, 2024.

One of the two Filipinos, Bryan Dela Cruz, was being held in a Japanese jail and was "very emotionally distraught," according to a Philippine Embassy official.

The DFA previously said Dela Cruz and the other Filipino, Hazel Ann Baguisa Morales, who are both being investigated for leaving the body of a Japanese couple, were not considered suspects. — DVM, GMA Integrated News