Sy ordered freed after citizenship ruling

The Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to release mining executive Joseph Sy from custody, affirming that he is a Filipino citizen.

The legal counsels of Sy, Carla Santamaria-Seña, and Dennis Manalo said on Saturday that the Bureau of Immigration must comply with the court’s directive.

Sy, chair of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), was earlier arrested on suspicion of Chinese citizenship after his fingerprints allegedly matched those of Chinese national Chen Zhong Zhen, who was also issued an Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card (ACR I-card) identifying him as a citizen of China.

It was compared to the case of former Bamban Mayor Alice Guo, who was identified as the Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.

Sy’s legal team, in their statement, said the court granted the petition for habeas corpus filed for Sy’s release as it ruled that the BI has no jurisdiction to detain a Filipino.

The lawyers also noted that the Taguig RTC recognized Sy’s Filipino citizenship, which has been affirmed in previous proceedings by several government bodies, including the Bureau of Immigration, the Office of the President, the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court.

He was never shown to have lost his Filipino citizenship, they added.

Also, the Taguig court found Sy’s birth certificate and Philippine passports to be superior and of conclusive weight compared to the BI’s Alien Certificate of Registration ACR I-Card, as the latter is not a public document and cannot override primary proof of citizenship.

They said the BI’s reliance on a bare biometrics certification — unsupported by fingerprint records or credible corroboration — was found gravely inadequate,” they said.

Because of this, the court declared the BI’s proceedings against Sy illegal and ordered his release.

Sy’s camp said the ruling goes beyond personal vindication, serving as a strong reminder that Filipino citizenship cannot be taken away based on speculation, recycled cases, or administrative overreach.