Philippines police believe an Australian man may have been gunned down in his home because of a legal dispute with a local Filipino.
Ex-Queenslander Reginald Rene Hodgens, 70, was shot in the head about 7.45pm on October 15, according to local police.
The Philippines' Lifestyle website reported that Mr Hodgens was at the gate of his rented home in Sinait when he was shot once in the head by an unknown assassin.
He was rushed to the Ilocos Sur District Hospital, in Sinait, but declared dead on arrival.
Local senior Inspector Edmund Artates told the site the 70-year-old had recently moved from the town of Cabugao to Sinait after “filing a case against a Filipino”.
“Perhaps, the motive, with revenge, is based on the documents we have detected, there is a case in Cabugao,” he said.
Local police have reportedly undertaken "dragnet operations" in an attempt to find the person or people who killed Mr Hodgens and to examine CCTV footage.
One cartridge and one bullet were found at the scene of the crime.
A number of locals who appeared to know Mr Hodgens have paid tribute to him on the Facebook page of news site TV Patrol North Luzon, which posted a picture of what appeared to be Mr Hodgens' dead body.
"Rest in peace Rene," a man named Bryan Corner said.
Mark Jackson, who claimed to know Mr Hodgens, left a comment on the Philippines' Lifestyle website saying he had visited the deceased in July and had known him for 15 years.
"Rene used to work as an English teacher here (Taiwan) and loved surfing. He spoke a lot about Sabang and the great surfing there. Condolences to his family. I hope justice prevails and the killers are caught," Mr Jackson said.
Sinait is a town of about 25,000 people about 450 kilometres north of the Philippines' capital of Manila.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian man who had died in the Philippines.
As is usual policy with the Department, they would not confirm Mr Hodgens was the man who had died.
Consular assistance can include repatriating the body of the deceased back to Australia, and liaising with local authorities.
Comment has been sought from the Philippines police.
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