DFA monitoring case of slain transgender Pinay

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Saturday said it was “actively monitoring developments” in the death of a Filipino transgender woman in New South Wales, Australia.

The DFA said its Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs  as well as the Philippine Consulate General in Sydney were coordinating with local authorities regarding the case and were ready to repatriate the victim’s remains.

Online news reports in Australia said the victim, Mhelody Polan Bruno, 25, died in a hospital in the city of Wagga Wagga last Sept. 22.

She was reported missing two days earlier and later found unresponsive in a house by police and emergency paramedics.

A 31-year-old man was later arrested and charged with manslaughter.

He was freed after posting bail, but he will be appearing in a local court on Nov. 6.

Bruno was in Australia for a two-month vacation and was supposed to head home on Saturday, according to her family. —Jerome Aning