Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — A steel manufacturing plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental is being examined for possible national security implications following the discovery of over <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2026/5/16/69-chinese-nationals-found-illegally-working-in-steel-manufacturing-plant-1724">60 Chinese workers</a> allegedly involved in activities that could have implications beyond labor and regulatory concerns.</p><p>Authorities on Friday entered the facility and found 69 Chinese nationals and a Filipino national allegedly working with potentially harmful or noxious materials.</p><p>Five incorporators linked to the company Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corporation remain at-large.</p><p>Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who personally flew to Tagoloan on Saturday, said the plant was owned by <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/9/brother-of-ex-duterte-adviser-michael-yang-arrested-0724">Tony Yang</a>, a Chinese businessman previously linked to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) operations.</p><p>Yang is the brother of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s economic adviser Michael Yang.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/11/04/21/michael-yang-denies-being-a-communist-agent-for-china">&#x27;I love the Philippines&#x27;: Michael Yang denies being communist agent for China </a></div><p>The site is located within the Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corporation (PHIVIDEC) Industrial Estate, a semi-autonomous government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) supervised by the Department of National Defense (DND).</p><p>Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military provided security and operational support in implementing the search warrant as part of a joint operation with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Philippine National Police (PNP).</p><p>“Ang inyong AFP provided security and operational support dito sa inter-agency team na nag-implement nitong lawful search warrant. Our role for this was to help ensure the safety of our government personnel, and maintain peace and order doon sa area. Nag-secure tayo ng area during the conduct of the said operations,” Padilla told reporters in a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Tuesday.</p><p>“The operation was conducted jointly by the AFP with the PAOCC, NBI and PNP. This is a court-authorized, and the latest and the most operationally decisive development in a two-year investigative arc targeting the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation for numerous violations of Philippine law,” she added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/27/pcg-tightens-vetting-of-auxiliary-members-after-discovering-chinese-nationals-in-roster-1524">PCG says &#x27;stepping up&#x27; vetting of auxiliary members after discovering Chinese nationals within ranks</a></div><p>According to Padilla, the site had already been flagged in September 2024 due to alleged links to POGO activities.</p><p>Authorities have also identified suspected substandard steel products that could affect infrastructure projects, as well as concerns over the handling of hazardous materials.</p><p>“Yung site po na ito was flagged actually way back pa noong September 2024. It has alleged links to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator, which has been known to double as hubs for what we call foreign influence and malign interference and criminal syndicate activities dito po sa country natin. So, nakita po itong ties with this,” Padilla said.</p><p>Meanwhile, AFP spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad (Reserve) said authorities were assessing whether the incident could be part of a broader pattern.</p><p>“On the possibility that this could be part of a bigger web, we have to step back and look at it from a macro level,” Trinidad said. “In the past, may nahuli tayong Chinese nationals with fake identities who were trying to pose off as Filipinos.”</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/chinese-national-pretending-as-filipino-arrested-in-batangas-1215">Chinese national &#x27;pretending as Filipino&#x27; arrested in Batangas</a></div><p>“We have apprehended alleged spies who were conducting mapping operations with equipment that were unauthorized. We have all other incidents of foreign nationals suspected to be Chinese operating in-country,” he continued. </p><p>The official added that authorities were checking possible links to foreign interference and malign influence (FIMI) operations, noting the involvement of Chinese nationals and local workers.</p><p>“This could be another similar activity which we are trying to check if this is foreign interference and malign influence (FIMI) operations, considering that Chinese nationals were involved, Filipinos were part of the labor force, and this could be part of the United Front Works (UFW) for all we know. That’s what we are checking as of now,” Trinidad said.</p><p>Trinidad also said it was too early to determine whether the operation of the steel manufacturing plant is linked to a planned Philippine Navy facility in the area, given that the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation had been operating even before reports of the naval project emerged.</p><p>“It remains to be seen considering that the activity, the alleged steel factory that has been producing substandard quality of the products, has been there even before news came out that there could be a possible Philippine Navy base,” Trinidad said.</p><p>“The SND [Secretary of National Defense] mentioned that if there is an angle of economic sabotage, of the environment, of labor, it becomes a national security issue,” he added.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/24/ph-navy-flags-espionage-trend-after-arrests-of-suspected-chinese-spies-1422">PH Navy flags &#x27;espionage trend&#x27; after arrests of suspected Chinese spies</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YX7OpVnYnEc?si=UWMQVRnLvJwlZ6u5" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>

<p>A steel manufacturing plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental is being examined for possible national security implications following the discovery of over 60 Chinese workers allegedly involved in activities that could have implications beyond labor and regulatory concerns.</p>

A steel manufacturing plant in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental is being examined for possible national security implications following the discovery of over 60 Chinese workers allegedly involved in activities that could have implications beyond labor and regulatory concerns.

Misamis Oriental steel plant with over 60 Chinese workers under probe for possible national security risks

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Misamis Oriental steel plant with over 60 Chinese workers under probe for possible national security risks

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published May 19, 2026 04:14 PM PHT

Read More:

Tagoloan

Misamis Oriental

steel manufacturing plant

Chinese workers

Tony Yang

Armed Forces of the Philippines

national security concern

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