MANILA -- Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Elmer Cato on Wednesday said Maldives' Ministry of Tourism expressed its intent to shoulder the expenses of repatriating the remains of a Filipino couple who drowned while snorkeling off Dhiffushi Island.
"Dhaka Philippine Embassy has just informed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that the Ministry of Tourism of the Maldives has conveyed to the Philippines Honorary Consulate in Male that it would take care of the cost of bringing Leomer and Erika home," Cato said in a tweet.
The official said the remains of Leomer and Erika Lagradilla, who were married in December 2018, are expected to arrive in Manila over the weekend.
The Lagradilla couple's remains are now in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where these will be embalmed before being brought home.
The two newly-wed nurses were on their honeymoon in the Maldives when they both drowned on January 13. (PNA)
