MANILA, Philippines — The Senate will compel businessman Joseph Sy to attend upcoming hearings regarding allegations that he holds a falsified Filipino citizenship.
Senator Risa Hontiveros made the announcement on Thursday, November 5, after Sy missed the Senate subcommittee on justice and human rights inquiry.
Sy’s legal counsel, Atty. Alma Mallonga, informed the panel that her client had a “genuine desire to participate” but was admitted to the Makati Medical Center emergency room early Thursday morning and had been feeling unwell over the preceding days.
Hontiveros expressed skepticism over the absence, citing reports that Sy had hosted a party two weeks prior to the hearing. The senator directed Sy’s legal team to submit official medical reports from Makati Medical Center for validation by the Senate Clinic ahead of the next scheduled inquiry.
“Kung kaya mong mag party two weeks ago, siguro naman kaya mong humarap minsan pa at bumalik sa Senado,” Hontiveros told reporters.
“Hindi pwedeng hindi siya humarap minsan pa muli. Magiging impunity niya yan. Hanggang ngayon hinihintay namin ang medical certificate sa pamamagitan ng abogado niya mula doon sa Makati Medical Center,” she added.
“Ipapa-validate ko sa Senate Clinic, doctor sa doctor, ano ba yung totoong kalagayan or kalusugan ni Joseph Sy ngayong umaga.”
During the hearing, representatives from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the National Security Council (NSC) reaffirmed that government records identify Sy as a Chinese national named Chen Zhong Zhen. Immigration Deputy Commissioner Joe Alejandro Nacnac confirmed that biometric and institutional files show Sy and Chen are the same individual.
Meanwhile, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has initiated legal steps against the former chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) legal service head Atty. Eliezer Ambatali and Assistant Solicitor General James Cundangan confirmed that the OSG filed a petition for the cancellation of Sy’s birth records on October 12, 2026, with an initial court hearing scheduled for January 27, 2027.
Hontiveros commended the collaborative efforts of the OSG, PSA, BI, and NSC, drawing parallels to previous government investigations targeting fraudulent identities.
“Ayon sa BI at National Security Council (NSC), napakaraming national security threats ang nagbubunga dahil sa mga pekeng Pilipino, gaya ni Joseph Sy,” she pointed out.
“I am happy to hear na sa wakas ay nag-file na ang OSG ng kaso para sa cancellation ng birth certificate ni Joseph Sy. May this be a pathway to the cancellation of other fraudulent birth certificates by other threat actors.“