Pinoys urged to be cautious after dead body found in suitcase at NAIA

Filipinos in Bahrain and other Gulf countries were urged to be extra cautious afte a 20-year-old Filipina was murdered and her body was found inside a suitcase at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila (NAIA) last Wednesday.

Gulf Daily News (GDN) on Monday said victim Nidzmar Bahjin arrived in the Philippines from Bahrain. However, a spokeswoman for the Philippine Embassy said the victim was actually working in Oman and only transited through Bahrain International Airport.

The remains of Bahjin were found stuffed in a suitcase in a car park at the airport, in an area out or range of security cameras. The initial police findings indicated the victim had strangulation marks on her neck.

The victim arrived on a plane from Bahrain at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday  The motives for the killing of the victim are still unclear.  

Potential prey Meanwhile, Leonard Monterona, regional coordinator of Migrante International, said overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are often viewed as potential prey by criminals because they often carry money with them when they go home to the Philippines.

"Security needs to be stepped up in the Philippines to protect workers from the criminal elements working around the airport," Monterona said.

"There have been cases of some OFWs trying to commit suicide on their return, but this is a cold-blooded murder where the killers have put her body back into her own suitcase," Monterona added. Alarmed over killing The GABRIELA National Alliance of Women in the Philippines expressed concern over the killing of Bahjin.