By Adolfo Quizon Paglinawan

 

Series 15: Forever peace or forever wars?

“Gringo” has been a word used to refer to people from the United States by the Mexicans.

On August 19, 2026,  American soldiers, accompanied by PHIVIDEC personnel entered the San Jia Company compound in Zone 1, Nabulod Baluarte, Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental.

The incident was reported in a police blotter at the municipal police station as a Sanjia security guard, Jermie Espartero, 43, went there at about 11:05 a.m. to have the incident recorded.

According to the guard’s account, at about 10:12 a.m., several American soldiers accompanied by PHIVIDEC personnel intended to conduct a site inspection.

The security guard said their presence and the proposed inspection caused concern among company personnel.

Philippine Army personnel were reportedly already stationed inside the premises.

The group was allegedly denied entry because it could not show the required permit or authorization for the inspection.

The guard subsequently requested that the incident be entered into the police blotter for record and future reference.

What gave the American soldiers the idea that they can inspect a controversial facility that is now in the jurisdiction of government regulatory agencies and the judiciary – is the 17^th question, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, and for that matter his superior, President Bongbong Marcos must answer to the Filipino people.

16 Questions

Earlier Secretary Teodoro was asked by the Chinese Embassy sixteen questions pertaining to the raid he and military personnel conducted on the Sanjia Steel Factory last May.

These were substantial questions asked by the Philippine Star  and other media, that he earlier merely dismissed as “evasive and deceptive”.

Filipinos as well as the Chinese people deserve truthful answers to these questions I am reproducing in the public interest:

1. Is Teodoro the Philippine Defense Secretary or a police chief? Why did he participate in a law-enforcement operation against Sanjia Steel?

2. Why was the AFP involved in an operation that should have been handled by civilian law-enforcement agencies?

3. If Sanjia Steel violated environmental or other Philippine laws, why were the workers arrested rather than the people responsible for operating the plant?

4. Why were only Chinese workers arrested, while Filipino workers were released at the scene?

5. Why were the Chinese workers transported to Manila for detention using a military aircraft?

6. Were the Chinese workers actually engaged in illegal activities, as Teodoro claimed?

7. Were the workers properly treated during detention, including the allegation that approximately 70 people were held in cramped cells of about five square meters?

8. Why were Chinese consular authorities allegedly not notified and why were consular visits not arranged as required under the bilateral consular framework?

9. Why did Philippine authorities allegedly refuse to act after the Chinese Embassy supplied copies of the workers’ passports and valid work visas/permits?

10. Why were the workers detained for as long as 32 days despite the documents supplied by the embassy?

11. Teodoro described the absence of documents concerning the workers’ status as a “tell-tale sign of human trafficking.” Does that actually satisfy the legal definition of human trafficking under Philippine law?

12. Are foreign workers legally needed to carry their passports at all times while working in Philippine factories?

13. Who has the legal authority to determine whether Philippine laws have been violated—the Defense Secretary or the judicial authorities?

14. After Philippine prosecutors reportedly ordered the complaints against the 70 Chinese nationals referred for further investigation and ordered their release, why did Teodoro continue accusing them of illegal activity?

15. Does Teodoro respect the rule of law and the decisions of Philippine judicial authorities?

16. What is the basis of Teodoro’s accusation that Chinese Embassy officials were “intervening” in Philippine law enforcement when it was performing internationally-accepted consular functions to protect its nationals?

Implications

The central question is essentially: Why was the Philippine military involved in arresting foreign workers at a private steel factory?

That is a legitimate question to investigate independently, regardless of any one’s position on China.

This is pivotal because the defense secretary has always maintained that his office uses principles as basis for its actions and employed professionalism in all its actions.

But what is apparent is that Teodoro’s public actions have been wildly based on personal and political perceptions that clash with China’s position, which has become improper because they have evolved eventually as the stand of the Department of National Defense.

Teodoro says evidence established violations, but his raid has appeared to be a fishing expedition involving the Armed Forces of the Philippines even if it were dressed as involving the NBI and the PAOCC.

China says workers were improperly targeted instead of arresting the owners and management. Philippine authorities say they acted under legal process but the workers were mistreated and detained excessively.

It is incompetent for Teodoro to assert China “intervention interfering with local law enforcement” when what the China Embassy was doing was within normal consular protection for its nationals.

When the Department of Justice prosecutors ordered release of the Chinese workers, Teodoro retorted this doesn’t establish that the original allegations were false. Duh?

The May 28 resolution by the National Prosecutorial Service is particularly important because it reportedly ordered the arrested Chinese nationals released for lack of evidence. That it referred the complaints for further investigation doesn’t necessarily mean a court found that the workers were innocent or guilty; that is a different procedural question.

And this is probably why the dispute has escalated so dramatically with the Philippine side framing the incident as a test of sovereignty and law enforcement, while the Chinese are asserting diplomatic privilege and human rights.

Wise governance could have just treated this simply an as regulatory issue and not with knee-jerk criminal complications, especially as this could weigh on foreign direct investments in the Philippines.

Anti-China syndrome

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. has been labeled by Beijing as one of the most hostile figures against China due to what he claims as vocal defense of Philippine sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea, his outright rejection of China’s expansive maritime claims, and his active strengthening of U.S. alliance ties.

While the Philippine government frames his actions as a constitutional mandate to protect national security rather than animosity toward a specific nation, many key instances of his rhetoric and conduct have created adversarial bilateral relations between the Philippines and China, causing a predicament  the Philippines could ill-compete with other ASEAN countries for China opportunities.

Hardline Rhetoric, Labeling

• Calling China “Wicked” and a “Predator”: Teodoro explicitly dismissed Chinese criticisms and military warnings by stating he would continue defending the Philippines “in the face of the wickedness they are committing here and even in our seas”. He also warned that “nothing could come from opening the door to a predator” regarding military cooperation with external partners.
• Malicious Attribution of Bad Faith: Teodoro openly stated that discussions and consultations with China are useless when dealing with maritime dispute settlements, pointing out a severe “trust deficit”. Repeatedly making irresponsible remarks that undermine Filipino-Chinese bilateral relations.
• Calling out Propaganda: At regional forums like the Shangri-La Dialogue, Teodoro admitted to deliberately avoiding his Chinese counterpart and on live television dismissed questions from Chinese delegates as “propaganda spiels disguised as questions,”
• Accusing China of  Squid Tactics, Extortion and Blackmail: He has framed Chinese consular representation for its nationals as intervening in law enforcement and blasted statements from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as “classic squid tactics” and labeled Chinese immigration actions against Filipino nationals as “plain and simple extortion and blackmail”.

Confrontational Conduct and Policy Improvisation

• Denying Military Engagement Without Acceptable Justification: Teodoro maintained that the Philippine and Chinese militaries have not engaged in substantive de-escalation talks under his tenure because Beijing lacks “good faith” and tends to use diplomatic dialogue as a weapon against Manila. These are diatribes that are without truthful basis.
• Challenging Chinese Influence: He actively moved to monitor potential Chinese espionage and influence operations within local institutions, labeling events like alleged Chinese academic symposiums questioning Philippine territory as “ludicrous” even if sustained by historical facts.
• Lame Security Enforcement: Teodoro stonewalled that Chinese nationals arrested at Sanjia were involved in allegedly illegal activities even after inquest where the prosecution founded no evidence on charges and ordered them released.
• Flaunting Partnerships with US and its allies: This prejudice is nothing new or limited to Sanjia. Teodoro has maintained a strongly adversarial position on the South China Sea. His public position as Defense Secretary has consistently built up a case alleged Chinese coercion with twisted escalatory assertions feigned to support the Philippines’ need to strengthen its defense posture, consistently spearheading deeper defense cooperation, joint patrols, and military modernization with the United States and other allied nations, which Beijing repeatedly decries as provocation and regional destabilization.

• Discrimination and selectivity: Teodoro has developed an unusually confrontational, explicitly anti-Beijing posture, and the Sanjia operation raises legitimate questions he has crossed from opposition to Chinese state conduct into “discriminatory or selective law enforcement campaigns targeting Chinese nationals” for political purposes and personal aggrandizement.

His continuing corrosive behavior has proven that China was correct in barring Teodoro in June, together with his spouse and child from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao and prohibited Chinese entities from conducting transactions or cooperation with his family.

US Embassy explanation

According to PhilStar Global, the site visit conducted by the United States and Philippine military personnel at Sanjia was part of routine planning efforts:

“As part of the joint US-Philippines planning for Balikatan 2027, a team of US military and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel “arrived at the Sanjia facility in coordination with the Phividec (Philippine Veterans Investment Development Corp.) Industrial Authority to assess its potential for use as part of bilateral military exercises.

“When notified of facility access requirements, the team moved on to other site visits as planned. At no point was entry insisted upon.”

Shame that these Gringos think we are a bunch of monkeys. Why can’t they simply say, it was a fuck up?

But the larger onus here lies on Phividec Industrial Authority and Teodoro.

Public office is a public trust.

Teodoro’s possible violation of Section 3 of Republic Act 3019, known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, is being mulled by some civil society groups, and already a 18^th question arises enthused by the earlier raid on the Sanjia  factory.

Has Teodoro painted Chinese nationals not only as fair game to Philippine civilian law enforcement authorities, but also to his American friends, so that he can use the issue to further escalate conflict in the South China Sea issues?

The defense secretary must be reminded that Tagoloan is not an EDCA site.

Second, whatever the Philippine Navy is planning in its port has been preceded by the existence of the steel factory in the PHIVIDEC premises by years.

Teodoro announced that the Department of National Defense and the Philippine Navy publicly laid out plans to establish a major naval operating base and logistics hub in the same location only in late November 2024 with defense officials outlining broader operational details and site surveys progressing through September and November 2025.

My earlier information gathered in 2019 was they were planning this for the Ragay Gulf in Bicol, but it seems the department has decided to locate this naval hub for Visayas and Mindanao in Misamis Oriental instead.

Sanjia began its initial setup and operations around that same period, with ground breaking for the Tagoloan plant following on March 15, 2019, before becoming fully operational by 2021. Its existence clearly antedated Teodoro’s incomplete research by four years.

Republic Act 3019 aims to repress unlawful acts for public officials together with private individuals, causing undue injury to any party or giving unwarranted benefits to any person through manifest partiality, bad faith, or gross negligence.

Targeting Chinese establishments?

That said, arrest of more Chinese nationals manifests its ugly head, this time in Davao City, obviously caused by a momentum of anti-China targeting by Teodoro but without his and the military participation.

Nevertheless, this posed the 19^th question that the Marcos administration must address.

On August 14, personnel from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission raided the manufacturing facility of Mighty Steel Plant in Barangay Ilang, Bunawan, arresting 10 Chinese nationals and 4 Filipinos.

Consequently, the Philippine News Agency reported that about 200 workers of the plant, trooped to the City Hall to seek assistance three days after their workplace was shut down after the raid, leaving them unemployed.

Davao City First District Councilor Pamela Librado, the current chairperson of the City Council Committee on Labor and Employment Opportunities said, the displaced laborers are asking if the City Government could provide assistance to the workers who failed to receive their salaries following the raid.

The workers denied NBI and PAOCC statements they “rescued” them, asserting instead they were  harassed and mistreated during the operation and dislocated from work thereafter.

In an interview, a female employee alleged that NBI and PAOCC personnel entered the facility without presenting a search warrant.

“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,” the employee said. “They also checked our personal belongings, which I think is not proper. They also asked us to stay quiet on their surprise investigation before leading us out of our offices. They also asked our personnel to shut down the CCTV”.

The employee added that workers were screened for toxic substances, with the tests yielding negative results.

Government personnel check workers of Davao Mighty Steel Corp. during a raid on its facility at Davao City. Photo courtesy of Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission

Teodoro’s citizenship status

The 20^th question is my favorite.

Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. faced scrutiny over a past Maltese citizenship and passport obtained in December 2016.

Background and Timeline

• Acquisition: Teodoro reportedly acquired a 10-year Maltese passport (valid from December 2016 to December 2026) through Malta’s investor program while operating as a private citizen and corporate executive.
• Renunciation: He executed a sworn statement to renounce his Maltese citizenship in October 2021 ahead of filing his certificate of candidacy for the 2022 senatorial elections.
• Disclosure: The DND stated that Teodoro declared his former foreign citizenship status to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and the Commission on Appointments (CA) prior to his confirmation as Defense Secretary.

Legal Challenges

• Complaints Filed: Petitioners led by lawyer Russel Miraflor filed a complaint-affidavit before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office in June 2026, questioning the legal clarity of his citizenship transitions and pointing out that his Maltese passport lacked physical annotation reflecting the renunciation.
• Defense and Dismissal: Teodoro ignored the allegations as an unverified smear campaign, noting that the matter had already been thoroughly addressed and cleared by relevant oversight bodies.
• Palace Stance: Malacañang maintained that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was fully cognizant of Teodoro’s past citizenship papers implying condonation of an irregularity by a higher official.

Dual citizenship is not automatic- you must complete a process at a Philippine Embassy, Consulate, or the Bureau of Immigration.

Thus, while a natural-born Filipino who becomes a Maltese citizen or an immigrant to Malta, does not permanently lose their Filipino citizenship, they formally reacquire it through steps stipulated under Republic Act 9225 (The Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003).

Without completing this process, foreign naturalization technically causes the loss of Philippine citizenship.

Dual citizens may also run for or be appointed to public office in the Philippines, but they must personally and swear to renounce their foreign citizenship before assuming office

Teodoro claims he swore to renounce his acquired Maltese citizenship and has returned his Maltese passport.

But he refuses to show publicly documentation of those transactions. Worse, he has not also shown public documentation that he applied for reacquisition of his Philippine citizenship, proof of his taking his oath of allegiance, and the proper certificates accompanying such recourse.

Worst in question #39 of his notarized Personal Data Sheet (PDS), standardized as Civil Service Commission (CSC) Form No. 212 that asked “Have you acquired the status of an immigrant or permanent resident of another country?” Teodoro checked the “No” box.

Conclusion

The problem with our Philippine government today is that instead of addressing issues with answers based on facts and matters on the table, it employs mudslingers like Press Officer Claire Castro to deflect issues.

Another attack dog is PCG Commodore Jay Tarriela who as early as 2003 as a student has already lost character and credibility after he was caught cheating in an exam at the Philippine Military Academy as early as 2003.

Obviously tapped to cloud discussion rather than arrived at an enlightenment, when Tarriela cannot answer the arguments, he changes the subject. When he cannot win the arguments and answer questions, he stirs up resentment and resort to hysteria. and when confronted with facts that expose his lameness, he turns the issue into an attack on the Filipino people.

Who gave this Faustian character a card blanche at boorish vulgarity?

Sino-Diplomat and  Deputy Spokesman Guo Wei, puts him in his proper place:

“Let me ask you, what is respect? You slander and smear China but expect China to remain silent. Chinese citizens now face discriminatory and targeted enforcement in the Philippines, and you hope the Chinese Embassy does not correct the wrong doings. Are these acts respect? Certainly not.

“Let me be clear. The Chinese Embassy has the responsibility to uphold the interests and dignity of China and provide consular protection and safeguard the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens.

“It is time to stop pointing fingers and take a hard look at yourself in the mirror. Stop dragging the Filipino people into your publicity stunts.

“Filipinos are warm, kind, and hospitable people, and we have tremendous respect for them.

“You deliberately stoke hostility between our two countries and try to push China and the Philippines toward confrontation, even conflict.

“The Chinese Embassy’s responsibility is to bring our two countries closer, not further apart; to bring our peoples together, not drive them away.”

Marcos, Teodoro and Tarriela, answer the questions foursquare, as once again, public office is public trust.

   

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