BI also probing son of trader believed to have faked PH citizenship
After flagging mining executive Joseph Sy for allegedly having bogus Filipino citizenship, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) is now after his son, who is also suspected to be holding two active passports.
The BI on Tuesday said it has started investigating Johnson Cai Chen, who also goes by the name Johnson Chua Sy, after Sen. Risa Hontiveros claimed he had “two identities, two citizenships and two passports.”
In a privilege speech Hontiveros gave on Oct. 1, she pointed to conflicting details in Johnson’s two birth certificates. According to Hontiveros, the one that was registered when he was born in 1995 identified his father Chen Zhen Zhong as Chinese, with his mother also Chinese.
Red flags
Johnson’s other birth certificate, which Hontiveros said was acquired through late registration in 2014, identified his father, Joseph Cue Sy, as a Filipino citizen.
“Dual identities are red flags. If proven fraudulent, they will be dealt with swiftly and firmly under our laws,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado said in a statement.
Should Johnson be found to have faked his Filipino citizenship, he would face arrest, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval told the Inquirer.
In the case of Johnson’s father, Global Ferronickel chair Joseph Sy, Sandoval confirmed that he remains detained at the BI facility in Bicutan, Taguig City, as the bureau plans to file an appeal, citing “strong evidence against Chen, supported by BI biometric records.”
Immigration authorities arrested Sy on Aug. 21 upon his arrival from Hong Kong, upon suspicion that he may have faked his Filipino citizenship. He has since been in the custody of the BI, which said that his fingerprints match those of Chinese national Chen Zhong Zhen, who holds an Alien Certificate of Registration ID.
Last month, the Court of Appeals ordered Sy’s release after it granted his habeas corpus petition, affirming the ruling of a Taguig court.
