Remains of Filipina student slain in Ireland arrive in PH 2018

FINAL JOURNEY. The remains of Jastine Valdez, a 24-year-old Filipina student who was abducted and murdered in Ireland, arrive at the Clark Airport in Pampanga on May 30, 2018. Photo courtesy of the Clark International Airport Corporation

MANILA, Philippines – The remains of a Filipina student who was abducted and killed in Ireland earlier this month arrived at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga Wednesday night, May 30.

The remains of 24-year-old Jastine Valdez were accompanied by parents Teresita and Danilo, Philippine Honorary Consul to Dublin Mark Christopher Congdon, and Foreign Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato, the Clark International Airport Corporation said in a statement on Thursday, May 31.

Valdez will be laid to rest on Saturday, June 2, in Aritao town in Nueva Vizcaya.

"Jastine arrived in the Philippines with her parents for her final journey home. We in the Department of Foreign Affairs join Jastine's loved ones in the Philippines and the members of the Filipino Community in Ireland in mourning her untimely passing," Cato said in a statement posted on Facebook on Wednesday night.

Valdez, who joined her parents in Ireland 3 years ago, went missing on May 19, and was found dead two days later. Police identified the suspect in her abduction and murder as Mark Hennessy, a 40-year-old father of two who was killed in a police encounter on May 20.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the Philippine Embassy in London and the Honorary Consulate in Dublin are already monitoring the case and were in touch with Irish police.

Ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said Congdon will discuss with the Valdez family possible assistance the DFA may be able to extend.

“We grieve with the loved ones of Jastine Valdez, someone so young and so full of promise, who was suddenly taken away from them,” Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement following reports of Valdez's murder.