The Philippine government will still provide legal assistance to a 52-year-old Filipina who stabbed three people in the Belgian capital of Brussels.
Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose, however, said the Filipina whose name was withheld from the press may escape from criminal charges once the Brussels police proves that she is suffering from mental illness.
“She ran amuck. Good thing no one died…she will be undergoing psychological exams to determine her mental state,” Jose told reporters Thursday.
The Filipina reportedly stabbed a person in a shopping mall and two others on a bus.
A policeman shot her twice after she got off the bus and resisted arrest. Jose said the woman was now comatose but her condition was stable. Once the suspect’s condition stabilizes and when she recovers, she will undergo a series of psychiatric tests to determine her mental status.
The DFA spokesman said that once she was proven to be mentally incapable, the suspect may escape criminal charges.
Jose said they are determining whether the suspect was an overseas worker, a tourist, or a permanent resident.
The officer who is handling the case said that “terrorism is not the most likely case.”
The Brussels authorities said the Filipina is facing an attempted murder charge.
“The result of the psychiatric test will decide whether or not she will be charged. And if the victims file a case against her, we are ready to provide legal assistance,” Jose assured.
“But if the psychiatric tests reveal that she is not mentally stable, she may not be charged,” he added.
Since a man ran over and killed 85 people in Nice, France in July on Bastille Day and the suicide bombing in Brussels in March, European nations have been on high alert.
The authorities have tightened security since local Islamic State militants carried out a series of attacks in Paris in November 2015.
