DFA condoles with family of Filipina abducted, murdered in Ireland

May 22, 2018

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday expressed its sympathy to the family of a 24-year-old Filipina student in Ireland who was earlier reported kidnapped and later found dead near Dublin on Monday.

“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 Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano said in a statement.

“We join the rest of the Filipino Community in Ireland in offering our prayers for Jastine and her family,” Cayetano said.

The Secretary said the Philippine Embassy in London and the Honorary Consulate in Dublin have been monitoring the case and have been in touch with authorities since Valdez’s family reported her missing on Saturday evening.

Ambassador to London Antonio Lagdameo said Honorary Consul Mark Congdon will be discussing with the family possible assistance the Department may be able to extend.

Lagdameo said authorities found the body of Valdez, an accountancy student, in South County Dublin on Monday following a massive search that began after her disappearance.

Citing reports from the Honorary Consulate, Lagdameo said Valdez had just left her home in Wicklow County when she was abducted by a 40-year-old local man. Police tracked down the vehicle on Sunday and fatally shot the suspect.

Lagdameo said Congdon joined members of the Filipino Community in Dublin for prayer services for Valdez on Monday. Another prayer service is scheduled today in Wicklow. DMS