PSA cites irregularities pointing to ‘existence of fraud’ in mining tycoon’s PH citizenship
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) told senators on Monday that it found several irregularities “pointing to the existence of fraud” in mining tycoon Joseph Sy’s Filipino citizenship.
In a continuation of the hearings being conducted by the Senate committee on justice and human rights, which began looking into Sy’s citizenship last year, PSA Legal Services Director Eliezer Ambatali listed “clear indicators” that, according to Sen. Risa Hontiveros, showed that Sy is not a Filipino citizen.
Ambatali said the mining tycoon’s baptismal certificate was not in the records of the parish church that supposedly issued the document.
In addition, Sy’s affidavit of delayed registration of birth was notarized by a lawyer “who isn’t real,” he added.
Ambatali told senators that there were also no records for Sy’s parents in the civil registry, “whether it’s a certificate of live birth, certificate of marriage or certificate of death.”
Based on the businessman’s certificate of live birth, his parents got married in Balanga, Bataan.
Even the “hilot” or midwife who attended Sy’s birth does not have records with the PSA, Ambatali said.
“These findings, your honors, would lead us to conclude that there are irregularities pointing to the existence of fraud,” the PSA official said.
The PSA first confirmed irregularities in the late registration of Sy’s birth certificate during a committee hearing last year.
Separate issue
In Monday’s hearing, the businessman, who previously headed a nickel mining firm in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, was accused of noncompliance with government regulations.
According to Brooke’s Point Vice Mayor Jean Feliciano, the firm’s operations led to more flooding in the area and a surge in pollutants in the community’s essential water sources.
Asked for a response, Sy, who was at the hearing, first replied: “No comment,” saying he had a “professional management team” in charge of the mining operations.
When Hontiveros pressed him further, the businessman said that to his knowledge, the firm “helps many” people in the area.
In August 2025, Sy was detained by the Bureau of Immigration after his fingerprints matched those of “Chen Zhong Zhen,” who was reportedly born on March 29, 1965, in the People’s Republic of China. Chen was granted amnesty under the Alien Social Integration Act, or Republic Act No. 7919.
The Court of Appeals, however, ordered Sy’s release a month later, after his camp filed a petition seeking the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus.
Hontiveros later concluded that his case showed the weakness of the country’s civil registry, asserting that Chen Zhong Zen, “who is almost certainly a Chinese national … managed to infiltrate our country, ruin our environment, pilfer our natural resources, and bring them to his home country.”
