Three of the foreigners who were killed in the bloody hostage-taking incident in Manila on Monday are Canadian citizens, a police official confirmed Wednesday.

But Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Jr., spokesman of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the information was confirmed at the course of the standard operating procedure on the autopsy of the eight foreign victims that were taken to the PNP Crime Laboratory at the Camp Crame in Quezon City.

“It was found out that they are citizens of Canada because of their passports,” said Cruz in an interview.

The official said that the three Canadians might have accompanied their relatives from Hongkong for a travel in the Philippines.

But Cruz would not identify the three Canadians and even the five other Chinese citizens, saying they will leave it to the respective embassies of the two countries.

The bodies of all who died in the controversial hostage-taking incident, including that of dismissed Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza, were taken to the Camp Crame for autopsy after the police assault which the police admitted to be full of lapses.

Hongkong authorities went to Camp Crame to assist the relatives of the slain foreigners as well as to become observers of the procedures being undertaken at the Crime Laboratory.

Meanwhile, Cruz revealed that Mendoza was armed with two guns during the hostage-drama, a .45 pistol and an M16 rifle.

A background check revealed that the .45 pistol is licensed to Mendoza at the Firearms and Explosive Division of the PNP, said Cruz, adding that they are still checking on the ownership of the M16 rifle.