TAGOLOAN, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews / 17 May 2026) — Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro on Saturday said the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation in Barangay Baluarte, Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental “will remain closed until the courts decide what to do with it.”
Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided on Friday a steel manufacturing and smelting operations linked to alleged POGO gambling lord Tony Yang. Sixty-nine undocumented Chinese workers were detained.
Established in 2018, the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation facility occupies about 22.7 hectares inside the 3,000-hectare PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority estate here and employs between 400 and 600 workers, many of whom staged a picket outside the plant to highlight their plight.
One of the workers, Alberto Reyes, 37, said they are worried about the shutdown of their main source of livelihood. “I earn P30,000 a month. Where will I find work that pays the same?” said Reyes, a father of three.
A policeman guards a gathering of angry workers of Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation who are worried aout losing their jobs after authorities shut down the factory. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
“This site is already a crime scene,” Teodoro said, adding that the raid, conducted by NBI agents, was backed by a court-issued warrant to search for illegal and undeclared hazardous chemicals.
He said NBI agents were able to recover highly explosive and prohibited urban hazardous materials like urotropine and tungsten.
“We have long suspected that. We are also looking into possible links between this factory and offshore gambling and criminal networks,” the defense secretary told reporters.
Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation has been linked to alleged POGO gambling figure Tony Yang, who is currently detained in Manila and facing charges of falsification of documents, perjury, and violations of the Anti-Alias Law.
Yang is the older brother of Michael Yang, a former economic adviser to President Rodrigo Duterte.
Teodoro said he is looking into how the factory was still allowed to operate in close proximity to a Philippine Navy dry dock being constructed on a 300-hectare portion of the PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority estate in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.
“This is the reason why I came down here—to check why this factory was allowed to operate. I want to determine whether it was being closely monitored by PHIVIDEC, an agency under my department,” Teodoro, who arrived Saturday, said.
Teodoro said the factory poses potential national security and environmental risks to residents of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental.
Teodoro tasked the Office of Civil Defense to coordinate with the Department of Labor and Employment to address the plight of workers and find alternative jobs for them. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
