DND fires back at China over steel plant raid
One female employee said personnel arrived with long firearms and searched their belongings before ordering them to remain silent and leave their offices.
Text size
One female employee said personnel arrived with long firearms and searched their belongings before ordering them to remain silent and leave their offices.
The Department of National Defense (DND) fired back at Beijing after the Chinese Embassy accused Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. of sowing discord and “staging anti-China activities” over the arrest of Chinese nationals during a raid on a steel plant in Misamis Oriental.
DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong described the embassy’s statement as a “classic example of evasiveness and a badge of deception,” saying it failed to address Teodoro’s accusation that Chinese diplomats illegally intervened in Philippine law enforcement operations involving the Sanjia Steel Plant.
“Instead, it is full of questions and rhetoric. This is, in legal practice, an implied admission of culpability,” Andolong said. “They cannot hide behind their disingenuous misinformation. We will not be oppressed.”
The Chinese Embassy, through spokesperson Ji Lingpeng, called Teodoro’s remarks “completely unfounded” and accused him of distorting facts. It claimed the raid was discriminatory and intended to frame Chinese nationals, noting that Filipino workers were released.
Ji also alleged that three Chinese workers were made to wear protective equipment and pose for photographs during the operation.
Teodoro is a staunch critic of China and has no qualms in accusing it of staging black propaganda and disinformation involving the West Philippine Sea despite the 2016 arbitral ruling that favored Manila and dismissed Beijing’s sweeping claims there as invalid and baseless.
China has sanctioned Teodoro, banning him and his family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
Questioned
The embassy questioned Teodoro’s participation in the joint operation involving the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) that led to the arrest of 69 Chinese nationals.
“Teodoro has recently spared no effort to stage anti-China activities. His real purpose is to destabilize and sabotage China-Philippines relations, pushing the Philippines to the forefront of confrontation with China, and create continued tensions and conflicts, all to serve his own ulterior political agenda,” the embassy said.
Teodoro had accused the embassy of covering up for the arrested workers and meddling in the case. He also alleged that more than 100 undocumented Filipinos had been arrested in China, describing the move as “extortion and blackmail.”
The government shut down the Chinese-run facility after allegedly finding radioactive materials, including uranium and thorium, in imported scrap metal, as well as alleged immigration, labor and environmental violations.
Teodoro also cited allegations of substandard steel production, untreated wastewater and toxic emissions.
CCTV turned off
Meanwhile, employees of the steel facility claimed they were harassed and maltreated during a separate raid involving NBI and PAOCC personnel.
One female employee said personnel arrived with long firearms and searched their belongings before ordering them to remain silent and leave their offices. She also alleged that employees were told to shut down the facility’s CCTV system.
“I thought they were terrorists. It was a surprise when they came. We were just working in our offices then they (NBI) came with their long guns pointing at us,” she said.
The employee said workers were also scanned and tested negative for toxic substances.
The operation resulted in the arrest of Chinese and Filipino workers and the rescue of Filipino employees amid allegations that the facility’s steel products were substandard and hazardous to human health and the environment.
Teodoro, a vocal critic of China’s actions in the West Philippine Sea, has been sanctioned by Beijing and barred, along with his family, from entering mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao.
