MANILA, Philippines — Taguig City Regional Trial Court has ordered the immediate release of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. Chairman Joseph Sy, ruling that his detention by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) was illegal.

In a 35-page decision dated Sept. 4, Taguig RTC Branch 271 Presiding Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes granted a petition for a writ of habeas corpus and directed BI officials “to discharge the body and person of Mr. Joseph Cue Sy, illegally detained at Bureau of Immigration Warden Facility (BIWF), immediately upon receipt hereof.”

Sy’s lawyers said the ruling affirmed his Filipino citizenship, citing recognitions by the BI, the Department of Justice, Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the President, and the Supreme Court.

Court orders Immigration to release of Global Ferronickel Chairman Joseph Sy

“The Court ruled that the BI has no jurisdiction to detain or deport a Filipino,” counsels Carla E. Santamaria-Seña and Dennis P. Manalo said, adding that citizenship “cannot be stripped away by speculation, recycled cases, or administrative overreach.”

The court held that Sy's birth certificate and Philippine passports were of superior and conclusive weight compared to the BI's Alien Certificate of Registration (ACR) I-Card, which the court said was not a public document with a presumption of truth and cannot override primary proof of citizenship.

"The BI's reliance on a bare biometrics certification - unsupported by fingerprint records or credible corroboration - was found gravely inadequate," the counsels said.

The court said there has never been any allegation or proof that Sy lost his citizenship under Commonwealth Act 63.

"To allow the BI to recycle accusations already settled would be a violation of finality of judgments," they added.

Court orders Immigration to release of Global Ferronickel Chairman Joseph Sy, This news data comes from:http://dsuo-cbx-yysm-qvg.gyglfs.com

Sy’s counsels said the decision was “a resounding reminder that Filipino citizenship cannot be stripped away by speculation, recycled cases, or administrative overreach,” adding that the BI “must now heed the court’s order with dispatch and ensure that Mr. Sy is not held for a moment longer.”

Sy was arrested on Aug. 21 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after a business trip from Hong Kong for allegedly holding fraudulently acquired Philippine documents.