BI considering next legal step in Joseph Sy case
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday it is still studying its next legal move in response to an order from the Court of Appeals to release from detention mining executive Joseph Sy.
In a statement sent to the Inquirer, Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said they would coordinate with the Office of the Solicitor General to “avail of the possible legal remedies” after the appellate court granted the businessman’s petition for habeas corpus.
The writ of habeas corpus, a legal remedy that relieves a person from unlawful restraint, enables the court to order the state to produce a person in custody. The chair of mining firm Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc.
was arrested by BI agents on Aug. 21 upon his arrival from Hong Kong.
He is suspected of being a Chinese national after his fingerprints were allegedly found to be a match for a certain Chen Zhong Zhen. Sy has since been held at the BI detention center in Bicutan, Taguig City.
The CA ruling affirmed a Taguig court’s order for Sy’s release after it gave weight to his birth certificate and passport as proof of his Filipino citizenship.
