The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday faced criticism from senators over the alleged delay in endorsing the cancellation of the birth certificate of mining tycoon Joseph Sy, who has been accused of falsifying his Filipino citizenship.
During a hearing of the Senate Committee on Justice on fraudulent birth certificates obtained by Chinese nationals in the Philippines, it was revealed that the PSA endorsed the cancellation of Sy’s birth certificate to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) only this month.
Committee chair Sen. Risa Hontiveros questioned the delay, noting that the endorsement should have been made as early as December last year, based on the PSA’s commitment during a previous hearing.
“During the hearing last year, you reported that there were irregularities in the late registration of Joseph Sy’s birth certificate. And you committed to endorsing Mr. Sy’s case to the OSG for the cancellation of his birth certificate. Why did it take almost three months?” Hontiveros asked.
“Is there any way you can explain this mysterious delay about such an important case, about a very important person to our country, Mr. Attorney Ambatali?” she added, referring to Eliezer Ambatali, PSA director of legal service.
Under the process, the OSG is responsible for filing a petition for the cancellation of a birth certificate once it receives an endorsement from the PSA.
Sy was earlier identified by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) as Chen Zhong Zhen, an alleged Chinese national who supposedly acquired Filipino citizenship illegally. He previously served as chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., but resigned from the post in December amid scrutiny over his nationality.
Ambatali said the PSA completed its investigation into Sy’s case only in February, attributing the delay to verification procedures and the need to gather relevant documents.
Fraud in late birth registration
Ambatali told the panel that the PSA found several indications of possible fraud in Sy’s late birth registration in 2008.
“Number one is the submission of a baptismal certificate that when we went to the parish church, we were told by the parish church that they don’t have any. Another one is that the affidavit of delayed registration, the notarizer is not a true lawyer,” he said.
He added that investigators also found no civil registry records for Sy’s parents, including birth, marriage or death certificates, despite Sy’s birth certificate stating that his parents were married in Balanga, Bataan.
Another irregularity involved the “hilot,” or traditional birth attendant listed in Sy’s birth certificate, who also had no records in the PSA database.
“These things, your honors, would lead us to conclude that there are irregularities that would lead to the existence of fraud,” Ambatali said.
Similar issues were noted in the birth certificate of Sy’s son, Johnson Sy, whose birth attendant was unnamed and whose Filipino citizenship was also obtained through late registration.
Because of the alleged abuse in late birth registration, Sen. Raffy Tulfo proposed a temporary moratorium that would allow individuals to register without penalties, while those aged 10 and above seeking late registration would be required to undergo court scrutiny.
Tulfo also said he plans to file a bill allowing the PSA to automatically cancel fraudulent birth certificates without needing to go through the OSG in order to speed up the process.
Sy attended Monday’s hearing but arrived late after reportedly undergoing a medical check-up due to chest pain and elevated blood pressure.
His case has drawn comparisons to that of former Bamban mayor Alice Guo, also known as Guo Hua Ping, who is currently serving a life sentence at the Correctional Institution for Women after being convicted of qualified human trafficking linked to illegal activities at a Philippine offshore gaming operator hub in her town.
Most fake birth records in Davao
Ambatali also told lawmakers that 1,471 birth certificates were fraudulently obtained by foreign nationals in the Philippines, most of them Chinese.
Many of the cases were recorded in Davao de Oro, while others were documented in Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Bulacan, La Union, and parts of Metro Manila, including Pasig, Caloocan and Quezon City.
The cases were reportedly endorsed to the OSG for cancellation in 2024, but no progress has been reported so far.
Tulfo criticized the OSG for failing to provide a clear update on the status of the pending petitions, warning that some individuals who obtained fraudulent birth certificates may have already entered government service.
“It's possible that some of the [1,471] individuals have already obtained various government IDs, others may already be politicians […] or may already be working in the DND, the PNP, the Coast Guard, who can now spy. We don’t know, right? That’s because of the OSG’s incompetence,” Tulfo said.
Sy was arrested in August 2025 after the BI said his biometric records matched those of a Chinese national.
However, a Taguig court ordered his release from BI custody in September after granting his petition for habeas corpus, a decision later upheld by the Court of Appeals in February.
In a privilege speech last October, Hontiveros said intelligence sources informed her office that Sy may be involved in malign influence and foreign interference (MIFI) activities.
MIFI refers to actions by foreign entities aimed at manipulating or disrupting the Philippines’ social, political or economic systems.
Hontiveros also alleged that Sy previously served in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, which could have given him access to sensitive information amid tensions between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.