On Wednesday morning, April 5, 23-year-old Mary Christine Balagtas received a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates delivered by two men at her home in 1st La Mirada Subdivision in Barangay Banga in Plaridel, Bulacan.
However, before she could ask them who had sent the flowers and chocolates, one of the men shot her in the head. She died as her family rushed her to the Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Pulilan.
The two men fled from the scene on a motorcycle.
"According to Supt. Julio Lizardo, Plaridel police chief, witnesses had seen the suspects in the neighborhood shortly before the shooting," reports Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The report noted: "Lizardo said the investigation might focus on a man with whom Balagtas had a romantic relationship."
Meanwhile, members of Balagtas' family declined interview requests from reporters. On the other hand, Balagtas' classmates at the University of Regina Carmeli College expressed their outrage online.
The report added that "Balagtas was the winner in the La Bulakenya pageant in 2009, when organizers merged the Lakambini ng Bulacan and Binibining Bulacan pageants."