Angeles-style Executions Come to Subic

For years, we have seen execution style killings of expats, particularly bar managers and owners, in Angeles. That is part of the reason that so many bar owners and managers relocated to quieter, safer Subic. Looks like those days are over now...

From the Brisbane Times:

Man shot over private life, colleague claims

Paul Davy was a mystery man - a "lovely guy" but a "harsh boss"; a "bit of a loner" but also "a man about town".

One thing is for sure: the 53-year-old Australian had a complicated private life, one part of which caught up with him on Saturday night when he was shot in the head, execution style, at a beachside bar in the Philippines.

"When a .45 bullet enters your head, it's a nasty experience," said Mick Hay, owner of the Blue Rock Beach Resort in Olongapo, near Subic Bay, where the murder took place. "I can tell you, because I was sitting right next to [Paul] when he got shot."

Mr Davy had been working for the past 3½ years as the resort's general manager.

"He ran the place well," Mr Hay said. "He was strict but you have to be here."

The two men were talking in the restaurant when, about 7pm, a man in a blue shirt, baseball cap and glasses walked past Mr Hay, raised a pistol and fired a shot into Mr Davy's right temple.

"Paul collapsed on the ground and the [shooter] ran off," Mr Hay said. "He was still holding the gun so no one was game to tackle him. He then jumped on a scooter and took off." Mr Hay loaded Mr Davy into a van and raced to a hospital in Manila, where he survived for 40 minutes.

Senior Police Officer Nasser Abdulasul, from Olongapo Police, said police had interviewed staff at the resort where senior management had a reputation for harshness. "Some of the staff told us that there were some workers who had been laid off recently without compensation. So that is one motive."

But Mr Hay rejected this. "What happened to Paul had nothing to with Blue Rock. It has to do with his private life."

It is understood Mr Davy, who was from Toowoomba, had an estranged wife and adult daughter in Brisbane. He also had a partner in Angeles City, north of Olongapo. "He used to visit her every couple of weeks," Mr Hay said. "He had a little girl with her, a five-year-old. There was never a problem there. But Paul was what you would call a man about town. It was common knowledge. And so we're 90 per cent sure that his murder has to do with that."

Mr Hay said Mr Davy came to the Philippines seven years ago but that he had "no idea'' what he did before.

"In the Philippines it's a good idea not to ask too many questions,'' Mr Hay said.