The Court of Appeals (CA) has declared illegal the arrest and continued detention of Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. Chairman Joseph Cue Sy who is a Filipino citizen.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Carlito B. Calpatura, the CA said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) cannot proceed with the deportation proceedings against Sy who is a Filipino national based on his birth certificate.

With its ruling, the CA denied the petition filed by BI which sought to nullify the Sept. 4, 2025 ruling of the regional trial court (RTC) which granted Sy’s plea for a writ of habeas corpus.  The RTC ordered Sy’s immediate release from BI’s custody.

The CA ruled: “Owing to his birth certificate, Sy should be considered a Filipino and not a proper subject of BI’s jurisdiction. At best, the deportation proceeding against Sy is prematurely instituted because Sy has an existing birth certificate issued by the Office of Civil Registrar that has not yet been cancelled.”  

The appellate court pointed out that summary deportation proceedings cannot be instituted by the BI against Filipino citizens.

Court records state that Sy applied for the late registration of his birth certificate in 2007 which was favorably acted upon by the Office of the Civil Registrar which issued a birth certificate.

The birth certificate states that Sy is a Filipino citizen; born on Oct. 10, 1966 in Quezon City; with Aida Samson Cue and Emilio Toledo Sy as parents who are both Filipinos.

He was also issued Philippine government identification cards such as a driver’s license and a Philippine Identification Card.

At the same time, Sy was issued a Philippine passport in 2010, 2014, 2017, 2019, and 2021.The latest passport is valid until 2031.

On Aug. 15, 2025, Sy departed for Hong Kong using his Philippine passport but was intercepted by the BI upon his return to the country on Aug. 21, 2025 and was detained.

The BI asserted that Sy and Chinese national Cheng Zhong Zhen are one and the same person. It also claimed that Sy’s real identity was established through the assistance of government intelligence sources which prompted the BI to dig deeper into his immigration records.             

At the same time, the BI said that the photographs as well as the biometric information and data of Sy and Chen matched, thus confirming them to be one and the same person.   

Also, the BI claimed that the fingerprints of Sy appearing on his passport and the fingerprints of Chen appearing on the Alien Certificate of Registration Identity Card Records (ACR I-Card) belong to one and the same person. 

Thus, the BI told the CA that Sy should be deported for violating the country’s immigration laws and the limitations and conditions of his stay.

The CA, however, did not agree with the BI as it pointed out that Sy’s birth certificate constitutes prima facie evidence of his citizenship, which the BI has the burden of proving otherwise.

“It is not for Sy to prove its alleged falsity, but for the respondent-appellants who are assailing the certificate to prove it. As a duly registered public document, the birth certificate is presumed to have undergone the process prescribed by law for the late registration of birth,” the CA said.

Also, the CA said that Sy’s birth certificate should have been accorded with more weight by the BI over the ACR I-Card of Chen.

“The birth certificate enjoys primacy in evidentiary value, primarily because a birth certificate is a public document while an ACR is not,” the CA stressed.

“Accordingly, the appeal is denied. The decision dated Sept. 4, 2025 of the regional trial court of Taguig City, Branch 271 in SPL Proc. No. 270 is affirmed,” the dispositive portion of the CA’s decision stated.

CA Associate Justices Emily R. Alino-Geluz and Selma Palacio Alaras concurred in the decision.