Marilyn Cahatol

Article (news)

Victoria Tulad

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1765780743535600887211_1414205157411503_2654683193653776587_n.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Businessman Joseph Sy appears before the Justice and Human Rights Subcommittee’s inquiry into his citizenship on Monday, December 15. <em>Senate of the Philippines/Facebook </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — Embattled businessman Joseph Sy faced the Senate for the first time after being accused of falsifying his Filipino citizenship.</p><p>Sy, chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc, is alleged to be Chinese national Chen Zhong Zhen or Shi Zhenzong based on the fingerprint analysis done by the Bureau of Immigration (BI).</p><p>Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros who chairs the Subcommittee on Justice and Human Rights, tried to extract answers from Sy on his identity such as his birthplace and where he grew up, but he invoked his right against self-incrimination.</p><p>“My ongoing case is in CA (Court of Appeals), so pasensiya na po na as I can invoke to my right to remain silent kasi may kaso na eh. Pasensiya na,” Sy said during the subcommittee’s hearing on Monday.</p><p>This did not sit lightly with Hontiveros.</p><p>“Saang mundo ba masama sabihin sa whether sa hearing ng komite ng senado or sa korte for that matter, itong mga basic facts na ito? Medyo fantastic yung stretch na iyon,” Hontiveros remarked.</p><p>“We convene this hearing because of Joseph Sy – na tinagurian na ng media bilang Alice Guo 2.0,” Hontiveros said. “Bureau of Immigration na ang nagsabi, yung fingerprints sa diumano’y Philippine passport ni ‘Joseph Sy’ ay tugma sa fingerprints ng isang Chen Zhong Zhen na nag-apply ng amnesty sa ilalim ng RA 7919, o ang Alien Social Integration Act of 1995.”</p><p>According to Sy’s lawyer, he is facing a deportation case and is under BI’s custody.</p><p>“As early as September 2025, his petition for habeas corpus had already been granted based on existing and relevant jurisprudence,” Attorney Alma Mallonga said.</p><p>“That decision was elevated on appeal to the Court of Appeals, your honor, and the court of appeals did order also the release of Mr. Joseph Sy,” she added. “Notwithstanding the appeal, your honor, we’d like the honorable committee to note, for whatever purpose it may serve, that the BI has, continues to refuse to release Mr. Sy.”</p><p>What Sy answered was his position in the Philippine Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce. He confirmed that he is the organization’s honorary chairman, but insisted  that it has no relation to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Chinese Communist Party.</p><div><strong>POTENTIAL NATIONAL SECURITY CONSIDERATION </strong></div><p>The BI arrested Sy on August 21, 2025 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for supposedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino citizen, for being an undesirable alien, and violating the terms and conditions of his stay.</p><p>“Mayroon hong admission si Mr. Chon Zhen Zhong (sic) on record na siya is si Joseph Sy. One and the same person,” BI Commissioner Joel Viado said.</p><p>The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) considers Sy’s case as a “potential national security consideration that warrants closed and sustained attention.”</p><p>“The issue is not limited to criminal liability but extends to risk monitoring, institutional safeguards and protection of strategic national interest. Joseph Sy has been linked to multiple legal and administrative proceedings over time including a deportation case arising from questions surrounding his citizenship and immigration status,” said NICA Director Ferlu Silvio.</p><p>According to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), it is coordinating with BI and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on the possible cancellation of Sy’s birth certificate.</p><p>“Ang kanyang birth certificate ay similar nga po, ay kagaya din po sa kay former Mayor Alice Guo ay late registration case po siya. Yung kanyang birth certificate at that time ay 41 years old na po si Joseph Sy,” said PSA Assistant National Statistician Marizza Grande.</p><p>“Under the rule ng atin pong Act 3753 yung AO number, series of 1993, under the delayed registration, in general, hindi po siya compliant or irregular yung process of delayed registration,” she added.</p><p>PSA is also looking into the birth certificate of Sy’s son, Johnson.</p><p>Hontiveros said the younger Sy has two birth certificates—one states that his father is Chen Zhong Zhen, while the other shows that his father is Joseph Sy.</p><p>Johnson Sy will be subpoenaed to the next hearing after failing to attend Monday’s hearing.</p><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/6/court-orders-release-of-businessman-accused-of-being-fake-filipino-1816">Court orders release of businessman accused of being &#x27;fake Filipino&#x27;</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRl8YFM7hIY?si=goO46sZD3VS0VE_g" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Embattled businessman Joseph Cue Sy faced the Senate for the first time ever since being accused of <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/22/-fake-filipino-arrested-at-naia-1734">falsifying </a>his Filipino citizenship.</p>

Embattled businessman Joseph Cue Sy faced the Senate for the first time ever since being accused of falsifying his Filipino citizenship.

Businessman Joseph Sy faces Senate hearing amid accusations of falsifying Filipino citizenship

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Businessman Joseph Sy faces Senate hearing amid accusations of falsifying Filipino citizenship

Victoria Tulad,

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 15, 2025 03:00 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 15, 2025 05:24 PM PHT

Read More:

joseph sy

filipino citizenship

risa hontiveros

nica

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