Manila  - A 60-year-old Belgian man killed his 37-year-old Filipino wife and then shot himself in a fit of jealous rage in a northern Philippine town, a police officer said Thursday.

Constant Van Girt allegedly shot dead his wife Rosaly during a heated argument inside their house in Iguig town in the northern province of Cagayan on Wednesday.

Senior Inspector Wilfredo Dupaya said that after killing his wife, Van Girt shot himself.

The couple was rushed to hospital, but Van Girt was declared dead on arrival. Rosaly died two hours later.

Dupaya said Van Girt, a former Belgian soldier who arrived in the Philippines in January, suspected his wife was having an affair with another man.

Investigators said Van Girt got suspicious when he caught his wife talking to someone on the mobile phone in the local dialect, which he could not understand. (dpa)