The incident of the sudden inspection at DITO headquarters continues to ferment, and official negotiations are underway between the Philippines and China.

The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines responded to the arrest of 39 Chinese citizens in the Philippines, stating that it had activated an emergency mechanism immediately and formally negotiated with the Philippine side regarding the detention of the relevant personnel, demanding the effective protection of the personal safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens. The embassy also stated that it will closely monitor the progress of the case and urge the Philippine side to handle it legally, fairly, and prudently.

Previously, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration conducted a surprise inspection at the headquarters of DITO, one of the country's three major telecommunications operators located in BGC, and detained 39 Chinese employees on site for not holding valid visas. This law enforcement action was led by the Director of the Intelligence Division of the Immigration Bureau, Fortunato, following an anonymous report on social media a week earlier, alleging that DITO was suspected of employing about 400 Chinese employees, most of whom lacked legal visas or special residence permits, suspected of violating immigration and labor laws.

Preliminary investigations indicated that some employees might have entered DITO through "shadow outsourcing" or unqualified intermediaries. The focus of the investigation includes whether illegal intermediaries were involved in recruitment, whether entry procedures were compliant, and whether it involved a larger scale of illegal labor export chains.

DITO Telecommunity, founded by Dennis Uy, a close ally of former President Duterte, has rapidly expanded its market footprint in recent years with the support of Chinese capital. However, due to its involvement of a large number of foreign employees in strategic industries, it has long faced questions about national security and the legality of its labor practices.

The incident occurred during a sensitive period in China-Philippines relations, and it is generally believed that this surprise inspection reflects the Philippine government's tightening of supervision over manpower and compliance issues in key industries involving foreign capital enterprises. Whether to deport or prosecute remains to be further investigated and judicially determined. DITO has not yet publicly responded to this matter.