CA: Detention of mining exec Joseph Sy is ‘illegal’

The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed a ruling that declared the detention of nickel businessman Joseph Sy as illegal.

In a 15-page ruling promulgated on February 20, the appellate court denied the appeal filed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

“Owing to his birth certificate, Sy should be considered a Filipino and not a proper subject of the BI’s jurisdiction,” it said.

GMA News Online has asked the BI for comment and will publish its response once available.

Sy was arrested in 2025 after his biometrics matched those of a Chinese citizen, Zhong Zhen Chen. Following this, the BI said it is preparing for his deportation proceedings.

However, in September 2025, a Taguig City court ruled that the detention and deportation proceedings against Sy are illegal as there is substantial evidence of his Philippine citizenship.

The BI then filed an appeal before the CA.

The appellate court said the birth certificate – which contains his citizenship and the names and citizenship of his parents – is presumed valid as a public document. 

“It is not for Sy to prove its alleged falsity, but for the respondent-appellants who are assailing the certificate to prove it. As a duly registered public document, the birth certificate is presumed to have undergone the process prescribed by law for the late registration of birth,” it said.

The CA added that Sy cannot be deported without first cancelling his birth certificate.

“Sy cannot be the subject of a deportation proceeding without first cancelling or correcting the entries in Sy’s birth certificate in an adversarial judicial proceeding, especially since there is no evidence that Sy admitted that he and Chen are one and the same person,” it said. — JMA, GMA Integrated News