Two Australians have been found dead at a luxury hotel in the Philippines alongside the body of a Filipina companion.
The murdered Australians are a married couple; an Australian man in his 50s and his Filipino-Australian wife.
The couple had flown from Sydney to Bali for a holiday then went to the Philippines on Monday to visit her two children, and decided to take a short break in Tagaytay before returning to Australia, a relative of the woman told AP.
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Their bodies were discovered with their hands and feet tied in a room at the Lake Hotel in Tagaytay, a popular resort city south of the nation’s capital.
Police did not identify the victims but they are believed to be an Australian man in his 50s, his Philippine-born partner and her relative.
Tagaytay police chief Charles Daven Capagcuan told the Associated Press the motive for the killings was not known and some valuables, including the victims’ phones, were not taken.
Investigators were interviewing witnesses and examining security cameras at the hotel.
The video included footage of a man wearing a mask and a hoodie and carrying a sling bag who walked out of the victims’ room a few hours before their bodies were discovered, Capagcuan said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs also did not reveal their identities but confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the families of two Australians who died in the Philippines.
“We send our condolences to the families at this difficult time,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Tagaytay mayor Abraham Tolentino said he was shocked by the incident and apologised to the families of the victims.
“We’re very sorry to our Australian friends,” he said.
“We will resolve this as soon as possible.”
The remains of the Australian man would be flown back to Sydney and the two women would be buried in the Philippines, Mr Tolentino said.
– With AP