A schoolgirl was allegedly murdered by her male companion at a motel in the Philippines.

Mae Fatima Tagactac, 18, told her parents she was with her classmates before checking into a lodging house with Lorben Larot, 43, after classes in Toledo City, Cebu province, on September 19 afternoon.

However, the pair - who had met through social media - failed to check out the following morning, prompting staff to knock on their room. When no one responded, the room boy opened the door with a key - only to find Mae's corpse lying on the bed.

She was said to have been gagged with a handkerchief and wrapped in a blanket, while Lorben was nowhere to be found.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Manolo Salvatierra, Toledo City Police Station chief, said: 'There were no CCTVs at the motel, but later on, there were private CCTV owners who provided footage showing the face of the suspect.'

Security camera footage shows the teenager and the suspect appearing to pick up food from a restaurant around 30 minutes before checking into the motel.

The police boss added: 'We couldn't get the man's exact name, but his photo started circulating on social media. Later on, there was a concerned resident who called the station claiming to know the suspect.

'The person said they were willing to co-operate. They gave us his number. Then on September 21 midnight, we formed a team to verify the information for a possible police operation to arrest the suspect.'

Officers descended on a house in Pier 1 in Cebu City, where Lorben was said to be residing. However, they only found his live-in partner there who gave the cops his real name.

Police said Lorben was also a suspect in the murder of his ex-cop father Lorenzo Larot, 63, in their home province of Misamis Oriental last year.

Lorben's landlord Nita claimed she 'rescued' him from the streets a few months ago. She said she took pity and allowed him to live at her place because he was jobless and homeless.

He found a livelihood as a barker for taxis at the port before reportedly disappearing on his motorcycle on September 20 evening.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare, spokesman for the Police Regional Office 7, said a manhunt was ongoing to arrest the fugitive.

He said: 'Right now we have a region-wide co-ordinated manhunt operation to catch this suspect immediately. We are also co-ordinating with other regional police because the suspect committed a crime in another region.

'All exit points such as ports in the Province of Cebu are being monitored and his pictures have been distributed so that whoever sees him can immediately report to the police.'

Mae's family said she had asked permission to stay out late with her friends 'for dance practice' before she went missing.

Her brother Jelvin said: 'We are used to her hanging out with her classmates after school, so we didn't question her further. We didn't know she was going to meet with a man she met on Facebook. If we had known, we would have stopped her.

'We panicked when she still didn't return home that night. We sent a message to her classmates but they said they hadn't seen her.'

Officials said they were waiting for the medico-legal report to see if Mae had been raped.