SEN. Erwin Tulfo raised the need to tighten the country’s citizenship verification system amid questions on the nationality of detained mining executive Joseph Sy.
Tulfo batted for a stricter process for granting citizenship during the hearing of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights on the misuse of government-issued identification documents and visas that enable foreigners to circumvent laws and engage in illegal activities in the country.
Sy, chairman of Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., was arrested in August 2025 after immigration authorities linked his biometric records to a Chinese national.
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Sy and a Chinese national named Chen Zhong Zhen or Shi Zhenzong are one and the same person.
Sy went to court to seek release from BI custody despite questions over his citizenship. His passport is under review while deportation proceedings are ongoing.
“This case shows gaps in how citizenship is granted. If Sy’s citizenship is valid, there is no issue. But if it was obtained illegally, it must be revoked, and those responsible be held accountable,” Tulfo said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros slammed the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for delaying an endorsement of the cancellation of Sy’s birth certificate.
Hontiveros said she was “mystified” that it took PSA almost three months to endorse the cancellation of Sy’s birth certificate to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
The OSG files a petition for the cancellation of birth certificates after it receives an endorsement from the PSA.
She expressed concern that the PSA’s delayed endorsement to the OSG would expose a legal loophole that those with questionable birth certificates can exploit.
“That should not be what PSA will do. That should not be what PSA will allow. PSA should not deny OSG to be able to do their duty because of this delay,” Hontiveros said.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo pointed to abuses in the late registration of births and misuse of government-issued identification documents.
“Until when will this so-called late registration stop? Because we always have people slipping through,” Raffy Tulfo said.
He proposed a temporary moratorium to allow citizens to register without penalties.
“Let’s open late registration for one year, from June 2026 to June 2027, without fines; free registration; and after that, require those registering late at age 10 or older to go to court for careful scrutiny,” he said.
Raffy Tulfo also called for closer monitoring of local civil registrars to ensure strict compliance with the rules.
“We have to find a system where both the Philippine Statistics Authority and local civil registrars work together to make the process more accountable,” he added.