The Chinese Embassy in Manila dared Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro on Friday to produce credible proof backing up his “absurd” accusations against the embassy acting as a public relations (PR) firm covering up Chinese businessman Tony Yang and his alleged illegal activities in the Philippines. 

The challenge came a day after Teodoro bluntly accused the embassy of doing PR work for Yang, whom he alleged is its “client.” Teodoro alleged this was made “obvious” by the embassy’s recent scathing statements against him and other Philippine authorities involved in the raid of a steel plant in Misamis Oriental purportedly owned by the businessman. 

The embassy fired back at Teodoro, demanding that he back up his accusations with solid evidence, as absent of it would merely expose his remarks as “nothing more than defamation and instigation to mislead public opinion.” 

“PR firm for Tony Yang? No one at the Chinese Embassy even knows him. Any serious statement must be accurate and factual. A Cabinet secretary, in particular, should be above nonsense and defamation,” Chinese Embassy spokesperson Ji Lingpeng stressed.

Ji contended that Teodoro has a penchant for diverting the narrative when he “can't win or even continue the arguments.” 

“Instead of addressing the legitimate concerns and questions we raised, Secretary Teodoro hurled some baseless and sensational allegations against the Chinese Embassy. A textbook example of squid tactics,” he stressed.

Teodoro joined the joint operations at Sanjia-Steel Corp in Tagoloan City, Misamis Oriental back in May, resulting in the arrest of 69 Chinese nationals.

The steel plant was allegedly linked to serious infractions, including the production of substandard, radioactively tainted steel, dumping untreated wastewater, and releasing toxic fumes. 

The government subsequently shut down the Yang-run facility after allegedly discovering radioactive materials (uranium and thorium) in imported scrap metal, alongside immigration, labor, and environmental violations.

The embassy cried foul over the raid, calling it a selective and deliberate effort against Chinese nationals “while all the Filipino workers were released on the spot.” 

Gibo 'anti-China'

Moreover, the embassy took issue with why Teodoro and the military were involved in the operations, although the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission explained that they needed logistical support from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The embassy accused Teodoro of staging “anti-China activities” for personal ambition, but Teodoro pushed back, calling the embassy’s retort a “squid tactic” to evade his accusations that it is intervening with enforcement operations to cover up the illicit activities of the Chinese nationals in the steel plant.

The embassy on Friday argued that although the Department of Justice already dismissed the complaints against the nearly 70 Chinese on 30 July, it did not stop Teodoro from accusing them of illegal activities without concrete evidence. 

“Any unbiased person would ask: who possesses the legal authority to determine law violations in the Philippines? DND or DOJ? Does SND Teodoro respect the rule of law and the decisions of the judiciary?” Ji pointed out.

Yang, who was also accused of being a former POGO boss, has been embroiled in several illicit activities in the Philippines. He is the older brother of Michael Yang—ex-presidential economic adviser to former president Rodrigo Duterte—who is also being linked to illegal drug operations in the Philippines.

He was arrested in September 2024 over falsification of public documents, perjury, and violation of the Anti-Alias Law for reportedly using multiple pseudonyms to establish and register several corporations, including Sanjia Steel Inc., Oro One Inc., and Mis. Or. Sand and Gravel Corporation. In July last year, he was arrested for the second time over similar accusations. 

The firms, which include malls and rice mills, are reportedly across Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.

A staunch critic of China, Teodoro has been locked in a verbal row with the embassy 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. 

As a result, China sanctioned Teodoro and banned him and his family from entering mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macao.

Despite keeping its bilateral ties with the Philippines, China has never honored the landmark decision, calling it “a worthless piece of paper that is illegal, null and void, and has no binding force.”