2 Taguig girls found dead at high school

The grade 8 and grade 10 students were found hanging with a rope tied around their necks and attached to a steel grill inside the Girl Scout Mini Office on the 3rd floor of the school around 11 p.m.

Initial investigation showed that the two teenagers were last seen alive around 7:45 p.m. telling their classmates they were going home.

Their friends discovered through a Facebook messenger group chat that they did not return home.

Friends and relatives then searched the whereabouts of the two girls.

A friend, identified as Danielle, saw the two teenagers already dead in an apparent suicide. Danielle informed the school duty guards who later reported the incident at Taguig City Police Station for proper disposition.

On Saturday, Rhea Manalo, cousin of one of the two students, posted a message to her Facebook account, urging her classmates, teachers, and friends to come forward and tell the truth on the matter.

Manalo also called for an investigation into the “uncooperative behavior of school management and the lack of closed circuit television camera.” She also asked authorities for an autopsy result to be released.

“My cousin was an honor student and part of the GSP. She’s in Grade 8, Gold Section. She will not dare kill herself. We are still waiting for the autopsy result as of this post,” she said.

The Taguig City government and the local police on Saturday appealed to the public to avoid sharing unverified information on social media regarding the deaths of two students who were found dead in a room at their school.

“We kindly request the public to avoid sharing unverified information on social media that may only hurt the feelings of the bereaved families,” said Mayor Laarni Cayetano as she instructed the local police to conduct a thorough investigation that would shed light on the circumstances surrounding this tragic event.

The local government expressed its deepest condolences for the loss of the high school students found lifeless at Signal Village National High School late Friday night.

Mayor Cayetano assures the families of their full support and has instructed authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. The Taguig Police Station in a statement meanwhile said initial evidence gathered by the Scene of Crime Operation (SOCO) team did not indicate foul play.

It also urged the public to refrain from making speculations that could worsen the situation experienced by the grieving families and said that the investigation will continue and will be conducted thoroughly and expeditiously. — Joel E. Zurbano