Court orders release of ‘Pinoy’ mining exec

MANILA, Philippines — A Taguig court has ordered the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to release Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI) chairman Joseph Sy after granting his petition for habeas corpus.

Sy was detained by BI agents upon his arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Aug. 21 aboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. He has since been held at the BI facility inside Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

The FNI chief was accused of misrepresenting his Filipino citizenship after the BI found that fingerprints from his passport allegedly matched those of a Chinese national named Chen Zhong Zen, who holds an Alien Certificate of Registration identity card (ACR I-Card).

In granting Sy’s habeas corpus petition, Presiding Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes of Taguig Regional Trial Court Branch 271 gave “superior weight” to the tycoon’s birth certificates and passports as proof of his Filipino citizenship.

“As between birth certificates and passports of Joseph Cue Sy and the ACR I-Card, the former are of more weight than the latter. They are actually of superior weight, not just substantial,” Cortes wrote in her 35-page ruling dated Sept. 4.

The judge stressed that unless invalidated by a competent authority, such documents stand as prima facie evidence of Sy’s citizenship.

With Sy’s Filipino citizenship affirmed, the court ruled that the BI cannot initiate deportation proceedings against him.

Cortes noted that the BI failed to provide biometric records proving Sy and Chen are the same person, nor did it present evidence that Sy is a Chinese citizen.

As a final note, Cortes criticized the Department of Justice, the BI and the Senate for their “cavalier way” of handling the case.

“The DOJ and the BI relied on inconclusive evidence – in particular, on questionable reports based on photocopied documents – to take away the citizenship of the respondent and even justify his deportation,” the ruling stated.

“These acts violate our basic rules on evidence and, more importantly, the fundamental right of every person to due process,” it added.

In a statement, Sy’s lawyers Carla Santamaria-Sena and Dennis Manalo said the ruling marks a “personal vindication” for the embattled tycoon.

“It is a resounding reminder that Filipino citizenship cannot be stripped away by speculation, recycled cases or administrative overreach,” the lawyers said.

“The BI must now heed the court’s order with dispatch and ensure that Sy is not held for a moment longer,” they added.

Sy took a voluntary leave of absence from his FNI post on Aug. 27 to “resolve his personal legal matters.” The board elected current president Dante Bravo to take over.

FNI denounced its chairman’s arrest, stressing that multiple government agencies had already confirmed his citizenship.

Last week, Sen. Risa Hontiveros accused Sy in a privilege speech of using fake documents to become a Filipino and secure a post in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, branding him as “Alice Guo 2.0.”

Hontiveros cited a Chinese news feature that identified the tycoon as Shi Zhenzhong, who reportedly moved to the Philippines from Fujian province at age 17.

The deputy minority leader also raised concerns over Sy’s companies, which she claimed export raw nickel to China and operate without necessary permits.

Mining groups have rallied behind Sy, with the Philippine Nickel Industry Association and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines warning that his arrest could send the “wrong message” to investors at a time when the country is seeking to become a global leader in the mining industry.