The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is seeking passport cancellation and deportation of mining executive Joseph Sy, who is suspected of posing as a Filipino using fake or falsified records, similar to the case of former mayor Alice Guo.
According to BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado, they discovered that Sy and a Chinese national named Chen Zhong Zhen had the same fingerprints. There are also records that Chen allegedly admitted that he was Joseph Sy, but Sy refused to confirm this before the Senate on December 15.
During the Senate hearing, Sy also failed to answer several important questions such as his place of birth and where he studied. Sen. Risa Hontiveros also criticized him for possibly holding both a Chinese and Philippine passports, which is against China's law on dual citizenship.
Sy was previously detained by the BI, but was released by the Taguig Court. However, the BI believes there is strong evidence against him and has filed the case with the Court of Appeals. Hontiveros dubbed Sy “Alice Guo 2.0” after doubts arose about his identity and mining operations.
In addition, Sy's family, including his son Johnson Cai Chen, is also involved in the Immigration investigation into alleged fake birth records. A possible data breach in the Philippine Coast Guard, where Sy was a former member, is also being studied.
