Court orders release of Global Ferronickel chair Sy from BI detention

A Taguig City court has ordered the release of Global Ferronickel Holdings chairperson Joseph Sy from Bureau of Immigration detention after granting his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Sy was arrested at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on August 21 and had been detained by the Bureau of Immigration while facing a deportation case.

He was accused of misrepresenting his Filipino citizenship, with the BI finding his fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national named Chen Zhong Zen.

In granting the habeas corpus petition, Taguig RTC Branch 271 Presiding Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes gave "superior weight" to Sy's birth certificates and passports as proof of his Filipino citizenship.

The judge stated that these documents hold greater weight than the Alien Certificate of Registration identity card (ACR I-Card) unless invalidated by a competent authority.