Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Victoriano Lecaros has ordered embassy personnel in Kuala Lumpur to move out of an apartment complex following the death of Philippine social welfare attaché Finardo Cabilao in the Malaysian capital early this month.

In a press conference at the Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Lecaros said four other embassy personnel are staying in the same apartment complex where Cabilao lived.

Cabilao was found dead in the dining room of his apartment in Casa Ria, Taman Maluri district in Kuala Lumpur last August 7.

“There are four other embassy staffers who stay there. I instructed them to move out of the apartment complex,” Lecaros said, adding that the apartment complex had lax security, including an inoperative security camera.

Cabilao, who lived alone in his apartment, was buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. His remains were shipped back to the country last Friday.

According to Lecaros, Cabilao was last seen on August 5 during a court appearance involving two human trafficking victims.

Lecaros said Cabilao was apparently bludgeoned to death.

“He was hit more than once,” the ambassador said. “It is certain that he did not die of natural causes.”

“You can rest assured that the Malaysian police is treating this case very seriously and very carefully,” Lecaros added.

He said human trafficking is “not being ruled out” as the motive for the killing since Cabilao was known to help Filipino migrant workers who became victims of human trafficking. He said, however, that they are not jumping to conclusions.

“We’re not [supposed] to believe that yet. [If so], the rest of us are in danger, too. It’s not a nice thought to carry around… We’re giving the police enough room to work on the case,” he said.