The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said it is investigating whether an alleged illegal steel manufacturing operation in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental is linked to a broader network of foreign deceptive activities in the country.
Authorities arrested 69 undocumented Chinese nationals and one Filipino during a raid on the facility, where operatives recovered highly explosive and prohibited hazardous materials, including urotropine and tungsten.
Experts from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) also found “radiologically contaminated steel” and other radioactive materials in different parts of the plant, indicating a serious hazard faced by its workers as well as environmental risks to the community.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who visited the site on Saturday, said the plant was owned by Tony Yang, a Chinese businessman previously linked to Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) activities.
“As to the possibility that this could be part of a bigger web, we have to step back and look at it on a macro level,” AFP Western Philippine Sea spokesman Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad said during a briefing at Camp Aguinaldo.
Trinidad said authorities have repeatedly apprehended foreign nationals, particularly Chinese citizens, involved in illegal activities in the Philippines.
“(We caught) Chinese nationals with fake identities who were trying to pose as Filipinos. We have apprehended alleged spies who were conducting mapping operations who had equipment that were not authorized to be with them plus all other incidents of foreign nationals mainly suspected to be Chinese operating in the country,” he said.
“This could be another similar activity which we are trying to check if this is part of foreign interference 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 for all we know,” he added.
Trinidad said investigators are examining the issue holistically, including surrounding circumstances that could explain the operation’s broader purpose.
The Department of National Defense is developing a 300-hectare Naval Operating Base and dockyard within the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Tagoloan.
The facility is expected to become the Philippine Navy’s largest base in Mindanao and serve as a key operations hub for the Visayas and Northern Mindanao.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military provided operational and security support during the implementation of the search warrant.
“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,” Padilla said.
She added that the site had already been flagged in September 2024 over alleged links to POGO operations.
