MANILA, Philippines — Authorities may be dealing with another security risk with the arrest of businessman Joseph Sy, a “Filipino-Chinese” executive accused of using fraudulent documents to secure Filipino citizenship and even a post in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA), Sen. Risa Hontiveros said yesterday.
However, two mining industry associations have denounced Sy’s arrest and called for his immediate release.
In a statement, Hontiveros likened Sy’s case to that of dismissed Tarlac town mayor Alice Guo, whose fraudulent citizenship records enabled her to run for mayor and even win.
Guo is currently detained at the Pasig City Jail for multiple cases of money laundering in connection with her alleged business interests in illegal Philippine offshore gaming operations in Bamban, Tarlac where she had served as mayor.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has detained Sy, who chairs Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., for possession of fake passports and identification cards.
“This is Alice Guo Part 2: disguised as a Filipino, with fake passport and fake ID. Seems like there are still loopholes in the processing of nationality,” she said.
“Although joining the PCGA is voluntary and it’s non-government, it’s sad to think that Sy may have been given access to people or events where national security was usually discussed,” she said.
The senator said Sy became part of the PCGA in 2018 and received an honorary rank under the previous administration. She expressed alarm that someone facing questions about his citizenship could get close to sensitive institutions.
“It was not just the local government that he was able to infiltrate. He was able to get close to the coast guard – the very institution tasked with securing our seas,” Hontiveros pointed out.
“If it’s our institutions that are already being duped, the same can be said of our sovereignty,” she said.
Hontiveros also revealed that Sy’s firm entered into a joint venture with Chinese state-owned Baiyin Nonferrous Group Co. Ltd. during then-president Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit to China in 2016.
The partnership involved mining operations in Palawan, a province seen as strategically critical in the country’s maritime dispute with Beijing.
“So what can be the real agenda of Joseph Sy? Is he simply conducting business in Palawan, or is there more to his operations than meets the eye?” Hontiveros asked.
The senator is pushing for a Senate inquiry into Sy’s background, affiliations and into circumstances that enabled him to secure Philippine documents, warning that the issue raises questions about possible enablers and a deeper network.
On National Heroes Day, Hontiveros called on Filipinos to be vigilant in guarding institutions that define national identity.
“On Araw ng Bayani, let’s bear in mind that it’s not just territory that defines sovereignty. Let’s also guard our institutions, processes and documents that validate our being Filipinos,” she said, adding that the national flag is also at stake. “Nakataya rin dito and ating watawat.”
Arrest condemned
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), which counts FNI affiliate Platinum Group Metals Corp. among its members, said Sy’s detention “has no lawful basis and violates fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Together with the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA), COMP warned that Sy’s arrest sends the wrong signal to investors at a time when the country is seeking to strengthen confidence in its mining sector and position itself as a reliable global supplier of critical minerals.
They cited Sy’s positive contributions to the industry, noting that he has long advocated responsible mining while supporting environmental stewardship and host communities.
“It is deeply troubling and legally inconsistent that the BI, which twice recognized his citizenship, is now the very source of his illegal arrest and unlawful detention,” the PNIA said in a statement.
Sought for comment, Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval told The STAR that the bureau’s Alien Registration Division confirmed Sy’s fingerprints matched those of a Chinese citizen who previously held a long-term visa and an Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card.
The bureau identified the person as Chen Zhong Zhen, 60, who was arrested last Aug. 21 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, according to a previous BI news release quoting Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.
“Chen is the subject of a mission order and an investigation from the BI, after the agency received information from government intelligence sources about his alleged illegally acquired Philippine documents,” read the report cited by Sandoval.
“He was found to be using a Philippine passport issued in 2021, and was in possession of several Philippine identity cards showing that he is a Filipino,” the report read.
The BI said the suspect is involved in several major businesses in the country and has “infiltrated” various economic and business groups. — Alden Monzon