The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) warned that the continued detention of mining executive Joseph Sy, despite a court order for his release, is sending the wrong signals to the global business community and undermining the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
The Taguig City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 271 earlier granted Sy’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, declaring his detention by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) illegal. The court ruled that the BI has no authority to detain or deport a Filipino citizen.
The court cited long-standing jurisprudence, including Chua Hiong v. Deportation Board and Republic v. Harp, stressing that deportation applies only to aliens and that citizenship affirmed by the BI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) must be respected.
Sy’s legal counsels, Carla Santamaria-Seña and Dennis Manalo, said the RTC gave weight to Sy’s birth certificate and Philippine passports over the BI’s Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-Card, ruling that the latter is not a public document with a presumption of truth. The court also dismissed the BI’s reliance on a biometrics certification without fingerprint records as “gravely inadequate.”
“The RTC’s ruling is more than a personal vindication for Sy. It is a resounding reminder that Filipino citizenship cannot be stripped away by speculation, recycled cases, or administrative overreach,” the counsels said in a statement.
PCCI said every day the BI defies the order for Sy’s release erodes investor confidence, particularly as Sy chairs the chamber’s mining industry committee and leads a consortium aiming to transform the Philippines from a raw mineral ore exporter into a producer of higher value-added mineral products.
“The integrity and credibility of this massive effort, which requires huge capital mobilization and at least five years to execute, is put at risk if the court’s order for Sy’s release is delayed,” PCCI said.
The group said the issue is not limited to the mining sector, lamenting that inconsistencies in policy implementation and adherence to the rule of law have already hurt investor sentiment in other industries such as tourism.
Sy, who is also chairman of Global Ferronickel Inc. (GFNI), was detained by the BI on Aug. 21 over allegations of falsifying his Filipino citizenship.
 warns that the Bureau of Immigration's (BI) defiance of a court order to release mining executive Joseph Sy is hurting investor confidence and the country's reputation. A Taguig court declared Sy's detention illegal, citing his Filipino citizenship.){kind=link}