A Filipino woman who came to Bali for a vacation more than two weeks ago, has been missing since Christmas Eve, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) revealed yesterday.
The woman was identified as Ella Balmaceda Paaño, according to a bulletin posted by the DFA. She left the Philippines for Bali on Dec. 22, her older sister Eden Paaño Oliveros told our sister platform, Coconuts Manila, in a phone interview today.
According to Oliveros, her sister met up in Bali with a Russian friend whom she worked with at a Palawan resort on the same day she left the Philippines.
“Our hunch is that [the Russian friend] has something to do with our sister going missing,” Oliveros said in Filipino.
Oliveros said they had been talking to her sister through video calls every day and that the last time they were in contact was on Christmas Eve.
They noticed the next day that Paaño was inactive on Facebook Messenger, and she has remained inactive since. Her cellphone number cannot be contacted either.
It was Paaño’s first time to travel outside the Philippines and the trip was a gift to herself to celebrate her birthday on Dec. 20, Oliveros said.
Oliveros and their family approached the DFA for help on Monday. According to the Foreign Affairs department, the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta has filed a missing person report for Paaño.
If anybody on the island has heard or seen anything, please contact us at bali@coconuts.co, or her family at (+63) 9081427763 or (+63) 9125788021.
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