The country’s major mining associations are pressing the government to release Joseph Sy, chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. (FNI), who has been detained by the Bureau of Immigration since August 21 after arriving from Hong Kong.
Immigration officials said Sy misrepresented himself as a Filipino and was intercepted at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He is now being held at the National Capital Region Police Office while while facing deportation proceedings.
The immigration bureau said fingerprint records matched him to a Chinese national who had previously been issued a long-term visa and alien identity card.
But the mining industry disputes that claim, pointing out that Sy’s citizenship has been affirmed repeatedly by Philippine authorities, including the Bureau of Immigration itself in earlier rulings.
“This is deeply troubling and legally inconsistent,” the Philippine Nickel Industry Association said in a statement, adding that Sy’s detention on “mere suspicion of being an alien” is a violation of due process.
The group warned that the case sends “the wrong message to the business and investment community” just as the country seeks to draw new capital into mining.
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines echoed that alarm.
Platinum Group Metals Corp., an affiliate of FNI, is a chamber member “in good standing,” it said.
“His detention sends a chilling signal to investors, undermining efforts to position the Philippines as a reliable global supplier of critical minerals,” the chamber said. “Authorities must act swiftly, uphold due process, and release Mr. Sy without delay.”
FNI, the country’s second-largest nickel producer, condemned the arrest as “unlawful,” stressing that Sy’s nationality has been affirmed in rulings from the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Office of the President and the Supreme Court.
The company added that Sy had entered the country using a valid Philippine passport, which the high court has recognized as proof of citizenship.
While insisting that its operations remain “stable and unaffected,” FNI warned of wider consequences for a sector it has recently expanded to include cement, port operations and logistics.
