2 bodies found in San Andres

MANILA, Philippines - The bodies of a man and a woman, believed to have been executed, were discovered a few feet apart on a sidewalk in San Andres, Manila at past midnight yesterday.

Police described the two victims as in their late 40s, the man wearing a pair of camouflage pants and a white undershirt beneath a gray sweater, while the woman was clad in checkered short pants and a dark blue t-shirt.

Their faces were wrapped in packaging tape and their hands were tied. A plastic bag was placed atop the man’s body with a message in Filipino: “I am a (drug) pusher and robber.”

Initial investigation showed the bodies bore bruises all over. “These victims could have been suffocated to death,” an investigator said.

A couple told police they were roused from sleep by a dog barking and when they looked around, they saw the body of a man lying on the sidewalk along Osmeña Highway near its intersection with Zobel Roxas street in San Andres.

They also discovered the woman’s body several feet away. No one in the area could identify the victims. Police believe the victims could have been killed elsewhere and their bodies dumped in the area to mislead investigators.