TAGOLOAN, MISAMIS ORIENTAL, Philippines — Hundreds of local laborers are facing immediate economic distress following the sudden closure of a major industrial hub in Northern Mindanao. Roughly 50 displaced workers gathered outside the gates of the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corp. over the weekend, holding placards to appeal for the resumption of operations after a high-profile multi-agency raid completely paralyzed the facility.
The snap protest was timed with an on-site inspection by Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who arrived to evaluate the severe legal, environmental, and national security threats hovering over the plant.
The industrial shutdown is the direct result of a joint operation executed on Friday, May 15, by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), headed by Benjamin Acorda Jr.
- The Fugitive Owner: The steel manufacturing and smelting plant is heavily linked to controversial Chinese businessman Tony Yang (Yang Jian Xin). Yang admitted during a 2024 Senate investigation that he had systematically faked his Filipino citizenship. He is currently detained in Manila facing severe charges of document falsification, perjury, and violations of the Anti-Alias Law.
- The Foreign Workforce Inquest: During the raid, authorities apprehended 69 Chinese nationals and one Filipino inside the compound. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers immediately initiated on-site inquest proceedings against the foreign nationals, who are being labeled as prima facie undocumented, illegal aliens working primarily as plant supervisors.
- Five At-Large Incorporators: National authorities confirmed that five high-ranking corporate incorporators tied to Sanjia Steel have completely fled and remain at large.
Beyond immigration breaches, the Marcos administration is treating the 22.7-hectare facility—situated inside the 3,000-hectare PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate—as an active, high-priority crime scene due to structural and safety violations:
- Explosive & Prohibited Chemicals: Teodoro confirmed that NBI agents executing the search warrant recovered highly volatile, unmanifested urban hazardous materials, including tungsten and urotropine (a precursor used in creating explosives).
- Substandard Structural Steel: Regulators are analyzing the facility’s output amid growing industry warnings that the plant was utilizing illegal induction furnaces to manufacture substandard steel reinforcement bars, posing a massive collapse risk to local infrastructure.
- Proximity to Military Assets: The Defense Secretary raised intense strategic concerns regarding how the Chinese-linked factory was granted municipal and industrial permits to operate directly adjacent to a major Philippine Navy dry dock currently under construction within the PHIVIDEC estate.
While state forces untangle the corporate web, the immediate fallout falls heavily on the local workforce. Sanjia Steel operates on massive shifts, employing between 400 and 600 workers depending on production volume. The sudden seizure left roughly 125 workers stranded mid-shift on Friday, immediately disrupting the livelihoods of at least 250 to 600 local families.
“We were completely shocked by the closure. I earn ₱30,000 a month here to support my three children. Where will I find another job that pays the same in this region?” — Alberto Reyes, 37, displaced plant worker
Despite the emotional appeals from the picketing laborers, Secretary Teodoro stood firm, asserting that the gates will remain permanently locked under military and police guard until judicial bodies render a final verdict on the compound’s illegal assets.
To mitigate the localized economic shock, the defense chief formally directed the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Region X to coordinate closely with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to conduct an immediate census of the displaced Filipino workers. The state has promised to provide immediate financial relief, exploitation assessments, and fast-tracked job re-employment matching to insulate the innocent local labor force from the legal fallout of the corporate crackdowns.