PNP: Burnt body that of female Laguna student

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna, Philippines — Police confirmed yesterday that the dead body found in a toilet of the Laguna State Polytechnic University-College of Arts and Sciences is that of Trisha Macalagay, a Miss Paete Tourism candidate in 2022.

Lt. Col. Mark Julius Rebanal, Santa Cruz police chief, said the parents of the 22-year-old Macalagay, a Bachelor of Science-Biology student, had identified and claimed the body.

Rebanal told The STAR that Macalagay was seen rushing along with her classmates when fire broke out on the second floor of the College of Arts and Sciences building on Thursday.

However, Macalagay reportedly went back to the laboratory room to pick up some of her belongings.

Arson probers have yet to determine the cause of the fire and the amount of damage.