Bree Jonson’s death: 5 years, 2 autopsies, still no final NBI report

MANILA, Philippines – It has been five years since visual artist Breanna Patricia “Bree” Jonson was found dead at a resort in San Juan, La Union.

Jonson, 30, was staying at the resort with her then-boyfriend Julian Ongpin when she was found unresponsive inside their room on September 18, 2021.

The case soon drew national attention. Ongpin, the son of businessman Roberto Ongpin, was detained after police found 12.6 grams of cocaine in their room and said he tested positive for cocaine use. 

What followed was a series of conflicting accounts, forensic examinations, and legal proceedings. 

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later conducted a second autopsy and opened a separate investigation. But while the Philippine National Police (PNP) eventually said it had found no sign of foul play and no longer considered Ongpin a person of interest, the NBI’s own findings were never publicly released.

In 2026, Bree’s family renewed its call for the NBI to finally account for its investigation.

“We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for equal treatment — the same urgency, diligence,and commitment that should be afforded to every case, regardless of who is involved or how much political pressure surrounds it,” the Jonson family said in a statement on September 17, a day before the fifth anniversary of Bree’s death.

The family, the statement added, is “calling on the NBI to provide a clear and substantive status update, state whether the investigation has been completed, account for the evidence placed in its custody, and provide the long-awaited final report — or explain what investigative work remains and why it has taken five years.”

Here is a timeline of the case’s major developments:

Jonson found unresponsive 

On September 18, 2021, Jonson was found unresponsive in a room at Flotsam and Jetsam resort in San Juan, La Union, where she had been staying with Ongpin.

Ongpin told police that he found Jonson hanging inside the bathroom. He said he entered the bathroom after breaking through a small window and later brought her to the bed. 

According to reports, Jonson was taken to the Ilocos Training and Regional Medical Center, where she was declared dead on arrival.

The initial police investigation listed asphyxia, or lack of oxygen, as the cause of death. Police also seized around 12.6 grams of cocaine from the room and said both Jonson and Ongpin tested positive for cocaine use. 

Ongpin was arrested in connection with the drug possession case. He was initially considered a person of interest in Jonson’s death.

Ongpin released

Then-PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar confirmed on September 21, 2021, that the La Union Prosecutor’s Office had decided to temporarily release Ongpin while the drug complaint underwent preliminary investigation.

At the time, police had yet to reach a conclusion on how Jonson died.

Jonson’s mother, Salome “Sally” Jonson, publicly questioned the possibility of suicide and appealed to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to ensure that Ongpin would remain available while the investigation continued.

The DOJ then ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to place Ongpin on its lookout bulletin, allowing authorities to monitor his possible departure from the country while the case was under investigation.

Second autopsy requested

Jonson’s family requested another examination of her remains, saying the initial medico-legal findings warranted further investigation.

The family’s lawyers said the initial report showed bruises on parts of Jonson’s body apart from the ligature mark on her neck, which they said could indicate a struggle.

On September 22, 2021, the NBI confirmed that it had concluded the second autopsy on Jonson’s body.

Then-NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said the procedure began at about 2 am and ended at around 7 am. Specimens collected during the examination were to undergo laboratory testing.

The bureau also sent a forensic team to La Union to process the crime scene and said it would seek evidence from the PNP, which had been the first law enforcement agency at the scene.

CCTV footage released

During a press conference on September 23, 2021, police released CCTV footage showing Jonson and Ongpin outside their room shortly before Jonson was found unconscious. Eleazar said the footage appeared to show the couple having an altercation.

Jonson’s family and lawyers also said they saw a heated confrontation in the footage. They pointed to the scene as one reason they wanted authorities to take a closer look at what happened before Jonson’s death.

Ongpin later denied this interpretation. In his official statement to the police on September 24, 2021, he described the scene as a misunderstanding involving a bottle of alcohol and said arguments between him and Jonson were rare.

Jonson laid to rest

Jonson was buried at the Davao Memorial Park in Davao City on September 29, 2021.

Her family continued to question how police had handled the case, including Ongpin’s release and what they saw as delays in obtaining forensic findings.

The family said it was pursuing legal remedies while continuing to press authorities for a thorough investigation.

Dispute over autopsy evidence

During Jonson’s first autopsy on September 20, 2021, the PNP Region 1 Crime Laboratory removed portions of her stomach, heart and trachea to obtain tissue samples.

Three days later, during the NBI’s second autopsy, the bureau reported that the organs had not yet been formally turned over by the PNP. Jonson’s family and lawyers requested their release but said they received no definitive response over the next several days.

On September 29, 2021, the family contacted Eleazar, who said he would look into the matter. Two days later, then-PNP Crime Laboratory chief Pascual Muñoz Jr. told the family that the organs could not be turned over without a court order.

The response angered Sally, who questioned why the family had to go through a legal process when the police could have exercised their “political will” to expedite the matter.

After Sally personally raised the issue with Eleazar, the former PNP chief ordered the proper turnover and endorsement of the organs to the NBI. A court order was ultimately not required.

Eleazar later said there had been a misunderstanding. In a statement published October 3, 2021, he said the NBI had already seen the organs but could not clearly distinguish the heart, stomach and trachea tissues after they had been cut into sections and returned to the abdominal cavity.

Jonson’s family and lawyers rejected that explanation, saying there had been “no misunderstanding” about what they were asking for: the release and proper turnover of the organs to the NBI.

Ongpin indicted for drug possession

On October 18, 2021, the DOJ formally indicted Ongpin for possession of dangerous drugs under Republic Act No. 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The charge stemmed from the cocaine recovered from the resort room. Prosecutors classified the offense as non-bailable and said the criminal information would be filed before the Regional Trial Court in San Fernando City, La Union.

The drug case was separate from the investigation into Jonson’s death.

Ongpin seeks drug case dismissal

On October 21, 2021, Ongpin filed a 16-page motion before a regional trial court in San Fernando City, La Union, seeking the suspension of the proceedings.

His camp argued that the DOJ’s resolution had procedural deficiencies and questioned whether prosecutors had established that Ongpin actually possessed the cocaine. 

His lawyers also questioned how the drug evidence had been seized and handled, and argued that his right to due process had not been observed.

La Union court dismisses drug case

On November 15, 2021, the La Union Regional Trial Court Branch 27 dismissed the drug possession case against Ongpin.

According to Branch 27 Judge Romeo Agacita, police had failed to comply with several requirements governing the handling and documentation of seized drugs. Among the problems cited were the lack of immediate individual markings on some sachets and the absence of the witnesses required during the inventory.

The court ruled that the lapses undermined the chain of custody of the seized evidence and therefore found no probable cause to issue an arrest warrant. 

Following the ruling, then-BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the BI delisted Ongpin from its hold departure order (HDO) system and confirmed that he could leave the country “unless there are other pending arrest warrants or derogatory order issued against him,” Philstar.com reported on November 18, 2021. The DOJ then said it would file a motion for reconsideration.

But according to another report on November 21, then-Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the BI is still monitoring Ongpin’s whereabouts under an active immigration lookout bulletin while the DOJ prepares a motion for reconsideration and the NBI continues to investigate Jonson’s death. When asked if Ongpin was still in the Philippines, Guevarra said he did not know.

NBI investigation stalled

More than two months after the NBI began its parallel investigation, the bureau had yet to produce a final report.

On December 4, 2021, Guevarra said the NBI probe had stalled, according to an Inquirer.net report.

Guevarra said NBI agents were waiting for a judge to act on an application for a search warrant needed to obtain additional forensic evidence. The judge was reportedly on extended leave. Guevarra also said the bureau was waiting for the PNP to clarify information contained in its DNA report.

This was the DOJ’s last publicly reported explanation of the status of the NBI investigation in 2021.

PNP drops Ongpin as person of interest

The PNP announced on December 6, 2021 that Ongpin was no longer considered a person of interest in Jonson’s death.

The police investigation had found no sign of foul play, said General Dionardo Carlos, the newly appointed PNP chief at the time. The PNP also said it would continue cooperating with the DOJ’s investigation and respond to requests involving its DNA report.

The PNP’s announcement did not, however, amount to the release of the NBI’s findings. The two investigations had been proceeding separately.

PNP chief denies meeting the Ongpins

Jonson’s case would again resurface in February 2022 after claims that then-PNP chief Dionardo Carlos had gone to Balesin Island to meet the Ongpin family and discuss Julian Ongpin’s case.

According to a Philippine News Agency report, Carlos denied the allegation, saying his trip had nothing to do with the case. Roberto Ongpin, Julian’s father, owned the company operating the Balesin resort.

Case goes quiet

Public reporting on Jonson’s case became sparse after the first months of 2022.

Beyond Roberto Ongpin’s death in February 2023, which again briefly brought attention to Jonson’s case, publicly accessible reports do not indicate that the NBI issued a final investigative report between 2023 and 2025.

Family renews call for NBI final report

In May 2026, the Jonson family’s legal team wrote to senior NBI officials asking for a review of the investigation’s status, possible reconstitution of the investigative team, and another forensic examination of CCTV evidence. They also sought an accounting of evidence placed in NBI custody.

Five years on, Bree’s family said it’s no longer asking simply for an update but for an explanation of how the case was handled. 

Sally has said the family repeatedly followed up with authorities, requiring “repeated trips home from Canada,” where she is based as an overseas Filipino worker, only to be referred from one office to another without receiving the NBI’s final findings.

In a September 17, 2026 statement, the family said it is “troubled by what it sees as a disparity in the speed with which some high-profile or politically urgent matters can receive institutional attention while Bree’s case has remained unresolved for five years.” 

While stressing that the family is not making a claim about any person’s influence, it is concerned by “the extraordinary length of the delay,” so it’s asking the NBI “to explain how cases are prioritized and to demonstrate that the same standards of urgency and diligence apply regardless of who is involved.”

Jonson’s family is again calling on the NBI to clearly explain what work remains pending and why the case has remained unfinished for five years.

The appeal, the Jonson family said, is “ultimately about transparency, accountability and equal access to justice.” – Rappler.com 

Dominique Astucia is a Rappler intern studying BA Journalism at the University of Santo Tomas.