The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has urged the Philippine side to increase investigation efforts and to severely punish the perpetrators that abducted and killed a Chinese citizen and a Chinese American, whose nationality was confirmed by the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, according a statement from the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines on Tuesday.

The Anti-Kidnapping Group of Philippine National Police said that the investigation into the case is being carried out by the local police and is currently ongoing, but the suspects have not yet been apprehended, according to a Beijing News report.

Voicing the strongest condemnation of the murderers, the embassy stated it has contacted Philippine authorities at multiple levels for intensified efforts to seize and sentence the perpetrators, while providing necessary help to families of the victims.

The two victims, one surnamed Xia and the other Sun, were both senior managers working in two different companies for medical equipment, according to a report from Hongxing News on Monday, a Chinese news outlet founded by the Chengdu Economic Daily.

Hoping to further expand business opportunities overseas, they arrived in the Philippines on June 20, but were kidnapped, and were later killed on June 24, Hongxing News reported.

According to Hongxing News, victim Xia served as the international marketing director at a publicly-listed medical equipment company in China, graduating from Hunan City College and was also named one of the outstanding alumni of the department of materials and chemical engineering in the college over the past 15 years.

Victim Sun has aging parents at home, whose parents only know that their son was kidnapped in the Philippines, but are not aware that their son has been killed as of yet, Hongxing News reported.

Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, stated on the regular press conference on July 2 that the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has maintained close contact with the Philippine side after the incident, urging them to thoroughly investigate the case and effectively take measures to safeguard the safety of Chinese citizens in the Philippines.

Mao Ning said the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has also provided assistance to the family of the deceased. We will work with the relevant departments to guide the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines to continue closely monitoring the progress of the case and handle the follow-up work, she added.