MANILA -- The family of University of the Philippines-Los Baños graduate Michael Kenneth Cruz is appealing to the public for help after the 23-year old had gone missing.

Cruz, who lives in Pasig, was last seen and heard of by his family and girlfriend early Thursday morning before he left for his first day of work.

A licensed chemical engineer, Michael graduated magna cum laude in 2015 and is the youngest in his family.

His mother, Dolores Cruz, said she could not think of any reason for her son to go missing.

"Wala po siyang kaaway, napakabait na bata po ni Michael. Wala po akong idea kung bakit siya nawala," she said.

Mrs. Cruz said they have already put up posters with photos of her son in different transportation terminals throughout the metro.

In a phone interview with ABS-CBN News, Andrea Baule, the girlfriend of Cruz, said her boyfriend left early from his house in Pasig City for his first day of work in a food and beverage company in Balayan, Batangas.

She said Cruz sent her a text message at around 3 a.m. Thursday and another one past 4 a.m. informing her of his location.

Baule said Cruz traveled from Pasig to a terminal in Taft Avenue, Pasay City since it was the route that he was familiar of.

“Sabi niya po sa akin maglalakad-lakad po muna siya kasi naghihintay pa 'yung bus ng pasahero,” Baule said, recalling her boyfriend’s text message past 4 am.

Baule said she tried calling him again at around 7 a.m. and at different times throughout the day but could no longer contact him.

She then felt nervous when Cruz’s sister called her on Thursday afternoon asking for her brother’s whereabouts. The family received a call from the company that Cruz did not report for work.

The family of Cruz and Baule then immediately filed a missing person report at the Pasay City Police and also looked for him in transport terminals along Taft.

According to SPO1 Loren Osias of the Pasay City Police Investigation Division, no updates or sightings have been recorded on the case of Cruz as of Sunday. An alert on the case, however, has already been sent to the whole Southern Police District, Osias said.

Baule and the Cruz family have also asked passers-by for possible sightings.

They also asked for help from Barangays 97 and 98 in Pasay if they could check the CCTV footage for possible sightings of Cruz.

Unfortunately, the footage were not very clear, according to Baule, so they cannot confirm whether Cruz was caught in one of the tapes.

Cruz was wearing a gray jacket and was carrying a black bag when he left for work last Thursday.

(Persons with information leading to the whereabouts of Michael can message the ABS-CBN News Facebook page, Dolores Cruz (09192481855) or inform the Pasay City Police.