The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday raised national security concerns over alleged links between a raided steel plant in Misamis Oriental and foreign influence operations, following the arrest of dozens of Chinese nationals and the discovery of hazardous materials inside the facility.
AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said the military provided security and operational support during the May 15 inter-agency operation at Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corp. in Tagoloan town, where authorities arrested 69 Chinese nationals and one Filipino for alleged violations of Philippine laws.
“The AFP provided security and operational support to the inter-agency team that implemented this lawful search warrant,” Padilla said during a press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“Our role for this was to help ensure the safety of our government personnel and maintain peace and order in the area and secure the area during the conduct of the said operation,” she added.
Padilla said the facility had already been flagged by authorities as early as September 2024 over alleged links to Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (Pogo), which she said had been “known to double as hubs for foreign influence and malign interference and criminal syndicate activities.”