- Two Australian nationals and their Filipina companion were killed in a hotel in Tagaytay, south of Manila.
- The bodies were discovered tied to their hands and feet in a room at the Lake Hotel.
- The Australian government will cover the funeral and burial expenses for the women.
According to a police statement, a hotel worker discovered the bodies of the victims, whose hands and feet were tied, in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay City, south of Manila, on Wednesday. Tagaytay police chief Charles Daven Capagcuan told The Associated Press that the motive for the killings was not immediately clear. He added that some valuables of the victims, including their cellphones, were not taken by the suspect.
“We were shocked by this incident,” Tagaytay Mayor Abraham Tolentino said, apologizing to the families of the victims. “We’re very sorry to our Australian friends. We will resolve this as soon as possible.”
Authorities believed the victims to be a man in his 50s from Australia, his Philippine-born partner who had acquired Australian citizenship, and her Filipina relative.
Capagcuan said investigators were interviewing witnesses and examining security cameras at the hotel, including footage that showed a man wearing a mask and a hoodie, carrying a sling bag, walking out of the victims' room a few hours before their bodies were discovered.
An Australian couple flew from Sydney to the Indonesian resort island of Bali for a vacation and then traveled to the Philippines on Monday to visit her two children from a previous marriage in the country, according to a Filipino relative of the Australian woman who spoke to the AP.
The Filipino son of the slain Australian-Filipino woman, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear following his mother's death and the suspect remaining at large, said the Australian couple had planned to fly back to Australia on Wednesday, the day they were killed. However, they decided to briefly vacation in Tagaytay.
Tagaytay, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Manila, attracts both local and foreign tourists who visit for its cool weather and to see one of the world's smallest active volcanoes situated in the middle of a lake.
Tolentino informed the AP that the remains of the Australian man would be flown back to Sydney, while the two women would be buried in the Philippines as requested by their relatives. He stated that the government would cover the funeral and burial expenses for the women.
In Australia, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular assistance is being provided to the families of the two Australians. The spokesman expressed condolences to their families and noted that no further details could be provided "owing to our privacy obligations."
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