DAVAO CITY — The fallout from the controversial raid on Davao Mighty Steel Corporation is now hitting the workers hardest, with around 200 employees turning to the Davao City government for assistance after the plant was shut down.
The workers went to Davao City Hall on August 17 to raise concerns over the closure of their workplace, unpaid wages and the loss of their source of income, according to the Philippine Information Agency.
They were received by Davao City First District Councilor Pamela Librado-Morata, chairperson of the City Council Committee on Labor and Employment Opportunities, while personnel from the City Social Welfare and Development Office began profiling the affected workers to determine what assistance may be available.
But the number of affected employees could be significantly higher.
Local reports said more than 300 Davao Mighty Steel workers have been displaced following the August 13 operation at the company’s facility in Barangay Ilang, Bunawan. Many reportedly remain uncertain about their employment, unpaid wages and how they will support their families after the plant’s operations were halted.
From workplace to unemployment
The workers’ appeal comes days after a major inter-agency operation involving the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
Authorities searched the Davao Mighty Steel facility following an investigation into allegations involving the manufacture and distribution of substandard reinforcing steel bars.
The operation also involved the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Philippine Air Force, Philippine Coast Guard units, and the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division.
Authorities said 174 Filipino workers were rescued from an industrial environment where radioactive-bearing materials, dust, fumes, wastes and production residues were found.
The discovery transformed what initially centered on steel quality into a much broader public-safety and worker-protection issue.
Radioactive materials found
Technical examinations reportedly detected radioactive isotopes including uranium-238, thorium-228, thorium-232 and radium-226 in various areas and materials connected to the plant’s operations.
Authorities said these included finished reinforcing bars, furnace-related materials, industrial powders, dust, waste, wastewater and other production materials.
The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute also reportedly certified that the company and identified personnel did not possess the required authority to acquire, possess, use, store, transfer or otherwise handle nuclear or radioactive materials.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, meanwhile, said the company’s environmental compliance certificate did not authorize the presence, handling, processing, storage or use of radioactive materials at the facility.
Questions over steel already sold
Authorities are also investigating Davao Mighty Steel products that may have already entered the market.
According to the National Bureau of Investigation, testing of DMS reinforcing bars purchased from hardware stores in Mindanao found that four of eight samples—50 percent—failed the mandatory mass-variation requirement under PNS 49:2020, the Philippine standard for reinforcing steel bars.
Authorities have also reported finding DMS-marked reinforcing bars among the rubble of structures that collapsed following the June 8 magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao.
However, officials have stressed an important point: the presence of DMS steel in a collapsed structure does not, by itself, prove that the steel caused the collapse. Determining the cause requires a proper engineering assessment.
Workers now face a different crisis
While the government investigation focuses on possible violations involving radioactive materials and steel standards, affected employees are confronting an immediate economic problem: they no longer have a workplace to return to.
Councilor Librado-Morata said the workers have raised concerns about unpaid wages and livelihood, prompting the city government to explore possible assistance through the CSWDO and other agencies.
Local reporting said many of the workers had spent years with Davao Mighty Steel, with some reportedly employed there for between three and 10 years. The city is coordinating with the Department of Labor and Employment, Public Employment Service Office and other agencies to determine possible assistance and employment opportunities.
The councilor has also pushed for longer-term employment and livelihood support rather than relying solely on short-term aid.
Her office is studying a proposed Workers’ Emergency Lifeline Ordinance, which could provide temporary assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of extraordinary circumstances, including enforcement actions that lead to business suspension or closure.
Legal battle moves forward
The workers’ plight comes as the legal case against individuals linked to Davao Mighty Steel moves forward.
The NBI has filed a complaint with the Department of Justice over allegations involving radioactive-bearing materials and substandard reinforcing steel.
Authorities are looking into alleged violations of the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, Republic Act 6969, the Environmental Impact Statement System and the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Twenty-one individuals, including 10 Chinese nationals identified as corporate managers, supervisors and administrative or technical personnel, were also reported arrested during the operation.
The investigation remains ongoing, and allegations against the company and individuals involved still have to undergo the appropriate legal process.
The bigger question
For Davao’s displaced steel workers, however, the immediate concern is less complicated.
They need income, assistance and a path back to work.
The raid may have removed them from an allegedly hazardous workplace—but it also left hundreds of families facing an uncertain financial future.
As government agencies continue investigating the radioactive materials and allegedly substandard steel, the Davao City government is now under pressure to answer another question:
What happens to the workers who lost their jobs when the investigation began?
For now, the city is assessing their needs and coordinating with labor and social welfare agencies. But with more than 300 workers reportedly affected, the demand for assistance could extend far beyond the initial group that went to City Hall.
Leave a Reply