MANILA — The Court of Appeals (CA) has upheld the Taguig City Regional Trial Court’s decision halting the deportation proceedings against mining executive Joseph Cue Sy.

In a 15-page decision penned by Associate Justice Carlito Calpatura on February 20 and released Wednesday, the CA ruled that the deportation case cannot proceed unless Sy’s birth certificate, which lists him as a Filipino citizen, is “cancelled or corrected.”

Sy was arrested in August 2025 after immigration authorities claimed his fingerprints matched those of a Chinese national, Chen Zhong Zhen, and alleged that he had unlawfully acquired Filipino citizenship.

“It is not for Sy to prove its alleged falsity, but for the respondents-appellants who are assailing the certificate to prove it. As a duly registered public document, the birth certificate is presumed to have undergone the process prescribed by law for the late registration of birth,” the CA said.

Lawmakers had previously raised concerns about Sy’s growing influence despite questions over his citizenship. Last year, the Philippine Coast Guard revoked Sy’s honorary rank as an auxiliary rear admiral.