The name Alona Alvarez is irrevocably tied to one of the most horrifying and depraved murder cases involving a foreign national in the Philippines.

Her story is a tragic reminder of the dangers that lurk behind the promise of love and a better life often marketed through the anonymity of social media and dating applications.

Years may have passed since the event, but the brutal manner in which the young woman was killed in a Dipolog City motel remains a terrifying warning.

This is the case of Alona Alvarez, a story that shook Zamboanga del Norte and the Filipino community to its core.

A Call to the Police

It was an ordinary day in January 2013, the 30th of the month, when the Dipolog City police station in Zamboanga del Norte received a chilling call.

The report concerned the discovery of a lifeless female body inside a motel room within the city limits. Officers immediately dispatched a team to the scene.

The crime scene was located in a two-story establishment. Upon entering the room, marked with the letter K on its door, the officers were met with a gruesome and disturbing sight.

The room was in disarray, and blood was splattered across the floor and furniture. On the floor lay the naked body of a woman.

The victim was almost unrecognizable due to deep and massive injuries sustained to her face. The brutality of the scene suggested an intense struggle.

Investigators began to meticulously search the premises. They recovered several crucial items, including a remittance center receipt bearing the name Alona Alvarez.

They also found a bag and a cellphone. The cellphone, containing several photographs of a foreign man, immediately pointed the authorities toward a non-Filipino suspect.

The mysterious death of the woman inside the rented pension house room became the focus of the Dipolog City authorities’ immediate investigation.

The Motel’s Report

According to the report provided by the staff of the motel, the victim arrived on January 28, accompanied by a foreigner.

The staff confirmed that the foreigner was the same man whose pictures were found on the cellphone at the crime scene.

Upon checking in, the foreigner immediately paid for two days’ stay. The staff noted nothing unusual during the check-in process.

However, a little over two hours after they entered the room, the foreigner was seen leaving the room alone and departing the premises.

The staff did not see the young woman leave with him, nor did they question the man’s sudden exit.

Starting from that moment, the foreigner never returned, and strangely, the young woman was never seen leaving the room.

The situation remained unnoticed until January 30, the day the guests were scheduled to check out.

With no word or sign from either of the occupants, the motel staff decided to knock on the door.

When no one answered, they forced the door open. It was then that they discovered the victim’s horrific state, prompting an immediate call to the police.

The Life of Alona

Simultaneously with the body’s discovery, investigators began the difficult task of identifying and locating the victim’s relatives.

They officially identified the victim as Alona Alvarez, a young woman who had grown up in Dipolog City.

Alona was the youngest of four siblings and the only girl. At a young age, she was orphaned of her mother, and her father abandoned the family for another woman.

Alona and her three brothers were left in the care of their elderly grandmother, Hermin. Despite her age and the family’s poverty, Hermin managed to raise the four children and provide for their needs, particularly for her youngest, Alona.

Witnessing her grandmother’s struggles instilled in Alona a determination to help. She resolved that she would do everything she could to lift her beloved grandmother out of poverty once she was older.

According to her grandmother, Hermin, Alona was a responsible, kind, and dependable child. She was diligent in her studies and consistently achieved high grades.

Whenever she saw her grandmother exhausted, Alona would always promise her that one day, after finishing her studies, she would go abroad to work and help her.

It was a dream of hope that was tragically and prematurely cut short.

The Online Connection

Following the initial investigation, the Dipolog City Police immediately formed a special task group to focus entirely on the case.

The events leading up to Alona’s death quickly became clearer through the testimony of her close friend, cousin, and childhood companion.

It was on January 12 when Alona asked her cousin for help creating an account on a dating application.

On the very same day, Alona was immediately connected with a 42-year-old Australian man named Ali Ali.

This began a frequent communication between the two, eventually escalating to the point where Ali began sending money to Alona.

Alona had even shared the story of her new suitor with her teachers and classmates. On one occasion, Ali sent her 2,000 pesos, which Alona used to treat her friends to ice cream.

The Australian national’s promises of financial aid for her studies and a future marriage, with the prospect of bringing her to Melbourne, captivated the young woman.

This was everything the young and naive Alona had always dreamed of.

Then, one day, Alona told her cousin that Ali wanted to meet her in person. The initial plan was for both of them to pick him up at the airport so the cousin could meet him too.

However, when the day of the planned meeting arrived, Alona suddenly changed her mind. She told her cousin that she would go alone to meet her fiancé.

The cousin reluctantly agreed to the change of plans.

The Last Encounter

On January 26, two days before Ali’s arrival in the Philippines, he sent Alona a significant amount of money to cover her expenses for picking him up at the airport.

Before leaving, Alona had even asked her cousin to accompany her to the market to buy new clothes for the meeting and had her nails cleaned.

January 28 arrived, and Alona woke up early, excited about meeting Ali. Her cousin recalled dropping Alona off at the van terminal heading to Dipolog City Airport.

As the van was already moving, Alona suddenly stopped it to wave goodbye to her cousin one last time—a haunting final image.

It was past noon when the cousin received the last message from Alona, confirming she was with Ali.

After that message, they never received any further communication from Alona. Her grandmother also heard no news until the police called with the devastating discovery of her lifeless body.

Investigators confirmed that from the airport, the two immediately checked into the motel room, where Ali paid for the two-day stay upfront.

The Manhunt and Confession

The Dipolog City PNP immediately launched a massive manhunt operation. All police offices in neighboring towns were alerted to apprehend the suspect.

The operation quickly received a tip that Ali Ali had been sighted in Dapitan. From Dapitan, he managed to escape, quickly moving to Dumaguete.

However, the combined forces of the Dipolog and Dumaguete City Police soon caught up with him.

The Australian suspect was arrested in Dumaguete without resistance, quietly submitting to the police.

Officers noted his severely bruised fists, suggesting he had used them to repeatedly strike the defenseless Alona.

Ali was immediately transported back to Dipolog to face the severe crime he had committed.

In his extrajudicial confession, Ali claimed that the incident was accidental and that he was merely defending himself.

He alleged that while they were having sexual relations, Alona bit his sensitive parts. Shocked and in extreme pain, he claimed he retaliated by violently slamming her head against the bathroom wall.

When she collapsed on the floor outside the bathroom, he mercilessly struck her face with a shoe until she eventually stopped moving.

He admitted his plan was to flee to Manila, but he was captured in Dumaguete before he could fully execute his escape.

Justice and Warning

Based on his admission, Ali Ali was immediately charged with murder at the Dipolog Prosecutor’s Office.

The autopsy report on Alona Alvarez’s body was brutal: she suffered deep wounds to her head, multiple hematomas, and all her teeth were knocked out.

The severe trauma to her head was determined to be the direct cause of her death.

Ali Ali was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 40 years of imprisonment. He remains incarcerated, paying for the monstrous crime he committed.

The tragic case of Alona Alvarez serves as a critical and haunting warning from the PNP to all citizens, especially young women.

They are urged to exercise extreme caution and responsibility when using social networking sites and dating applications.

The police strongly advise against trusting people, especially foreigners, whom they do not know intimately or thoroughly verify, reminding everyone that a dream promised online can quickly become a deadly trap.