Camille Naredo

The facade of the Court of Appeals in Manila on June 11, 2019.

The facade of the Court of Appeals in Manila on June 11, 2019. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Court of Appeals

Adrian Ayalin

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- The Court of Appeals has affirmed the decision of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court to grant the petition for habeas corpus for controversial businessman Joseph Cue Sy. In the decision of the Special 8th Division promulgated on February 20, 2026, the court denied the appeal of the Bureau of Immigration and agreed with the assertion of petitioner Dante Bravo that Sy is a Filipino citizen.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/12/15/businessman-joseph-sy-faces-senate-hearing-amid-accusations-of-falsifying-filipino-citizenship-1500">READ: Businessman Joseph Sy faces Senate hearing amid accusations of falsifying Filipino citizenship</a></div>Bravo also asserted that the BI lacks jurisdiction over Sy because of his citizenship and his confinement is illegal.&quot;All told, we find that the deportation proceedings cannot proceed unless the birth certificate of Sy, stating that he is a Filipino citizen, is cancelled or corrected,&quot;  the CA said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Carlito Calpatura.The CA stressed that the deportation proceeding against Sy was prematurely instituted because of his birth certificate issued by the Office of Civil Registrar.The court noted in the decision that aside from his birth certificate, Sy was also issued Philippine government identification cards such as a driver&#x27;s license as well as passports from 2010 to 2021.  &quot;The settled rule that summary deportation proceedings cannot be instituted by the BI against Filipino citizens is applicable,&quot; the court said.Last year, Sy faced the Senate after being accused of falsifying his Filipino citizenship.He was arrested by the BI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for supposedly misrepresenting himself as a Filipino citizen and for being an undesirable alien. Sy is the chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. and allegedly a Chinese national whose real name is Chen Zhong Zhen or Shi Zhenzong based on the fingerprint analysis done by the BI.He also earned the ire of Senate Deputy Majority Leader Risa Hontiveros who tried to extract answers from Sy on his identity such as his birthplace, but he invoked his right against self-incrimination.

The Court of Appeals has affirmed the decision of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court to grant the petition for habeas corpus for controversial businessman Joseph Cue Sy.

The Court of Appeals has affirmed the decision of the Taguig City Regional Trial Court to grant the petition for habeas corpus for controversial businessman Joseph Cue Sy.

CA affirms habeas corpus petition for businessman Joseph Cue Sy

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CA affirms habeas corpus petition for businessman Joseph Cue Sy

Adrian Ayalin,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 25, 2026 05:31 PM PHT

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Joseph Cue Sy

habeas corpus

Court of Appeals

Bureau of Immigration

citizenship

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