Maid in filmmakers' slay contacts victims' camp

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of filmmakers slain by robbers who broke into their house in Quezon City has reportedly received text messages from the cellular phone of the missing housemaid who is being hunted by the police for the robbery-homicide case.

Erwin Romulo, a close friend of slain couple Alexis Tioseco and Nica Bohinc, said the text messages that reportedly came from housemaid Criselda Dayag’s phone were received after the housemaid’s photos and name were released in media reports.

In an interview, Romulo said in the text messages sent to a manager at Tioseco’s family business, Dayag supposedly asked that her photos not be released as she was being held by a “huge syndicate.” Romulo said that when the manager asked why the couple was killed, the sender of the message only said: “Nanlaban kasi (They put up a fight).”

However, while the phone number from which the text messages came was indeed Dayag’s, it was not clear if she was actually the one sending the messages.

The three robbers reportedly entered the house with Dayag’s help. The couple chanced upon the robbers when they arrived home Tuesday night. – Reinir Padua