What You Need To Know About the Arrest of Global Ferronickel Chairman Joseph Sy
Business circles were caught in a frenzy on Tuesday (August 26) after it was revealed that Joseph Sy, the chairman of listed Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc., (FNI) a major nickel player in the country, had been arrested and detained by the Bureau of Immigration.
Sy was nabbed by authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Thursday, August 21, for supposedly lying about his Filipino citizenship. He had come from Hong Kong at the time of his arrest.
In a statement, FNI denounced the arrest and called it illegal. Sy is currently being detained at the Bureau of Immigration’s detention facility in Taguig City pending his potential deportation.
“He entered the country on his valid Philippine passport, which the Supreme Court has recognized as official proof of identity of Filipino nationality,” FNI said in a statement. “His detention is a grave injustice, but we remain confident that the truth and the law will prevail.”
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado has said that FNI chairman, whose alleged real Chinese name is Chen Zhong Zhen, said the bureau was investigating Sy after it received intel that Sy reportedly obtained his citizenship papers illegally. The bureau noted that he had used a Philippine passport issued in 2021 and possessed various Philippine IDs presenting himself as Filipino.
“Without naturalization, a foreign national is not eligible to get Philippine citizenship documents,” according to Viado.
Viado even said Sy's case is similar to that of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo, who is being detained for lying about being a Filipno citizen and coddling an illegal offshore gaming company in her town. The illegal hub had been raided by Philipine law enforcers due to links to scamming operations.
Guo has also been accused of being a spy for the Chinese Communist Party, which she has repeatedly denied, maintaining her innocence.
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With FNI being a listed company, it was only expected for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take action on the matter.
In a news release on Tuesday, the SEC said that it was keeping a close eye on Sy's case and that it would also mull over what appropriate actions it would deem necessary under its jurisdiction to oversee publicly listed firms.
“Any action taken by the SEC on the matter will be in line with promoting transparency and confidence in the markets, especially matters that affect the governance of publicly listed companies,” the agency said.
FNI justified Sy's citizenship backed on at least six rulings from the BI, Department of Justice, the Office of the Philippines, the SEC, and the Supreme Court.
Senator Risa Hontiveros also chimed in over the detention, citing Sy's time as a volunteer in 2018 with the Philppine Coast Guard and potential national security risks amid tensions with Beijing over the South China Sea.
The Philippine Nickel Industry Association has called on the immigration bureau to free Sy, calling the arrest illegal and a grave injustice.
The company's posted revenues of P3.288 billion in the first half of the year, from P3.071 billion from year earlier.
Net income attributable to FNI shareholders reached P622.1 million in the first half of the year, way higher than the P207.1 million in the sam eperiod a year earlier.
FNI's posted a 51.82 percent drop in its attributable net income last year to P1.54 billion due to lower revenues and raised costs.
“His citizenship has already been affirmed by Philippine authorities, in particular by the BI in two separate rulings,” the PNIA said in a statement.
“It is therefore deeply troubling and legally inconsistent that the BI which twice recognized his citizenship is now the very source of his illegal arrest and unlawful detention.”
