THE Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), together with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), conducted a raid Thursday, August 13, 2026, on a steel manufacturing warehouse in Bunawan, Davao City, resulting in the rescue of 174 Filipino workers who were working in an industrial environment found to contain radioactive materials that posed risks of continued occupational exposure.
The NBI and PAOCC, with the assistance of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), Philippine Air Force and Philippine Coast Guard CBRN units, PCG Special Operations Group, and the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, implemented search warrants at Davao Mighty Steel (DMS) Corp. in Barangay Ilang following an investigation indicating that the company was manufacturing and distributing substandard reinforcing steel bars.
A PNRI investigation also detected radioactive isotopes in commercially distributed DMS reinforcing steel.
PAOCC Executive Director Undersecretary Benjamin Acorda Jr. said the 174 rescued Filipino workers were found in an industrial environment containing radioactive materials, dust, fumes, wastes and production residues that posed risks of continued occupational exposure.
He said technical examinations confirmed the presence of radioactive isotopes, including Uranium-238, Thorium-228, Thorium-232 and Radium-226, in different stages and areas of the company’s operations. These were documented in finished DMS rebars, furnace-related materials, residual black sand, industrial powders, dust, wastes, wastewater, and other production and stored materials.
Acorda said the company had no authority to acquire, receive, possess, use, store, sell, transfer, import or export nuclear or radioactive materials.
He said authorities also raised “serious concerns” over DMS reinforcing steel already circulating in the market, noting that four, or 50 percent, of eight samples purchased from commercial hardware establishments across Mindanao failed the mandatory mass-variation requirement.
NBI investigators also documented DMS-marked reinforcing steel bars in the rubble of structures that collapsed following the magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake on June 8, 2026, including schools, hospitals, government buildings, barangay health centers and residences in affected areas of Sarangani, Davao del Sur and Davao Occidental.
Authorities stressed, however, that the presence of DMS rebars in the collapsed structures does not by itself establish that the steel caused their collapse. Determining the cause of the structural failures remains subject to appropriate engineering assessment.
The NBI referred to the Department of Justice cases for alleged violations of Republic Act No. 12305, or the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act; Republic Act No. 6969, or the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act; Presidential Decree No. 1586, or the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System; and Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, against those involved in the operation of DMS.
Acorda said the PAOCC supports the continuing whole-of-government effort to protect the public from unsafe and potentially hazardous steel products.
“Our objective is clear: to protect the lives and safety of every Filipino. We fully support the NBI as the lead law-enforcement agency, as well as all our partner agencies, in this operation. When there is evidence that steel entering our market is substandard or contains radioactive materials, the government must act. We will follow the evidence, enforce the law, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable in accordance with the law and due process,” he said in a mix of Tagalog and English.
In May, the PAOCC, along with the NBI, raided the warehouse of Philippine Sanjia-Steel Corp. (SANJIA) in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental. The company was allegedly involved in the nationwide distribution of substandard and radiologically contaminated steel reinforcement bars, which authorities said posed a risk to public safety. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)