EASTERN MINDANAO COMMAND, Davao City — Ten Chinese citizens and four Filipinos were arrested on Thursday while seven remained at large following an an interagency law enforcement operation against a metal manufacturing company found to be producing and distributing substandard reinforced steel bars in Davao City.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) conducted an investigation after receiving reports that Davao Mighty Steel (DMS) Corporation in Barangay Ilang in Bunawan District was manufacturing and distributing substandard reinforcing steel bars.
The investigation widened after the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) detected radioactive isotopes in commercially distributed DMS reinforcing steel. After a series of test buys and examinations, the NBI, along with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) and other law enforcement agencies, conducted a lawful search of the facility on Thursday night which resulted in the identification of 21 suspects and arrest of 14.
The operation also resulted in the rescue of 174 Filipino workers from an industrial environment subsequently found to contain radioactive-bearing materials, dust, fumes, wastes and production residues that posed risks of continued occupational exposure.
The 21 individuals will be facing charges for violations of Republic Act 5207 (Philippine Nuclear Safety Act) Republic Act 6969 (Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990) Presidential Decree 1586 (Environmental Impact Statement System) and the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Radioactive materials
Technical examinations confirmed the presence of radioactive isotopes, including Uranium-238, Thorium-228, Thorium-232, and Radium-226, across different stages and areas of the company's operations.
These findings were seen in finished DMS rebars, furnace-related materials, residual black sand, industrial powders, dust, wastes, wastewater, and other production and stored materials.
Separate product-standard testing also raised serious concerns over DMS steels in the market. Of eight samples purchased from commercial hardware establishments across Mindanao, four, or 50 percent, failed the mandatory mass-variation requirement under PNS 49:2020.
Matibag said the presence of radioactive materials found in the steels were “above normal.”
Speaking in Filipino, Matibag said of the steel bars that they bought and tested, 50 percent were found to contain radioactive materials.
Substandard steel material in most structures damaged by quake
It was also found out that most of the structures that went down during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake last June 8, 2026 used substandard DMS steels.
Matibag said that about 70 percent of the defective steel bars were used in the damaged buldings in Sarangani, Davao del Sur, General Santos and Davao Occidental.
