The government is poised to cancel the birth certificate of nickel magnate Joseph Sy after authorities identified him as a Chinese national.

The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) made the disclosure at the Senate Justice and Human Rights subcommittee hearing on Monday, December 15, led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros who earlier raised the alarm over Sy’s questionable citizenship, much like dismissed Bamban, Tarlac mayor Alice Guo, whom authorities eventually found out to be a Chinese national.

Sy is chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., which has a huge stake in the country’s mining industry, which is considered a nationalized industry.

Assistant Solicitor General Eric Panga said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) has already requested the OSG to file a petition. Moreover, they are also now coordinating with other agencies to gather more evidence attesting that Sy is not a Filipino citizen.

“We are coordinating with the BI and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for documents, because we want to file the case with evidence from the BI and PSA to support our claim that he is an alien,” Panga told Hontiveros, chairperson of the panel.

Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) engineer Marizza Grande said the Fraud Management Division found out that Sy’s birth certificate was registered when he was already 41 years old.

Grande also said applicants are required to submit two documents to prove their citizenship, and Sy only submitted one which is a baptismal certificate.

“In general, he was not compliant, or the process of late registration was irregular,” she said.

BI Commissioner Jaime Viado, on the other hand, Joseph Sy already has an admission on record to be Chen Zhong Zhen.

“Chen Zhong Zhen admitted on record that he is Joseph Sy—one and the same person,” Viado said.

Sy was present at the hearing but refused to respond to Hontiveros' queries, repeatedly invoking his right to remain silent and his right against self-incrimination.

Sy cited his ongoing deportation case that is already pending before the Court of Appeals.

Nevertheless, Hontiveros reiterated her deep concern over the entry of foreign fugitives in the country to obtain Filipino identities, obviously with the help of some unscrupulous government officials.

Even more alarming, Hontiveros said is the fact that Sy was able to associate himself with the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Such institution operates alongside the country’s maritime security apparatus and directly engages with coastal communities and maritime environments.

Hontiveros warned Sy’s involvement in Philippine government poses serious risks to national security and environmental protection.

She urged the government to tighten security against identity fraud and institutional abuse.

“The question is, how did he become a Filipino? Was his identity lawfully obtained or manufactured for special access? The abuse of our laws and our system must end now,” Hontiveros stressed.