PSA: Cancel mining exec’s birth certificate

MANILA, Philippines —  The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has recommended the cancellation of the birth certificate of mining executive Joseph Sy after a three-month delay that drew sharp rebukes from lawmakers.

During the Senate committee on justice and human rights hearing yesterday, Sen. Risa Hontiveros grilled PSA director of legal services Eliezer Ambatali over the agency’s slow response, revealing that the agency endorsed the case to the Office of the Solicitor General only on March 2, shortly after the Senate committee followed up on the matter.

“Why did it take almost three months, one quarter of a year?” Hontiveros asked.

She noted that the PSA had already confirmed under oath irregularities in Sy’s delayed birth registration during a hearing last December.

Ambatali admitted the delay, but explained that the agency needed time to physically verify the submitted documents, such as the baptismal certificate, and acquire sufficient evidence before formally endorsing the case for cancellation.

Sy, who chairs Global Ferronickel Holdings, was detained by the Bureau of Immigration for allegedly holding a fake passport and identification cards.

Hontiveros said the core issue is Sy’s claim to Filipino citizenship, after the BI reported that the fingerprints found on Sy’s passport matched those of Chen Zhong Zhen, a Chinese national who applied for amnesty under the Alien Social Integration Act. 

The law granted amnesty to foreigners who entered the Philippines before 1992.

Detailing the grounds for cancellation, Ambatali enumerated several glaring anomalies in Sy’s civil records, which indicated fraud.

According to the PSA official, the parish church explicitly denied issuing the baptismal certificate Sy submitted. Furthermore, the lawyer who supposedly notarized Sy’s Affidavit of Delayed Registration was found to be fake.

Ambatali also noted a complete absence of civil registry records for Sy’s parents.