MANILA, Philippines – Former broadcaster Jay Sonza on Friday pleaded not guilty in a 2007 libel case before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC) Branch 77.
Atty. Israelito Torreon, Sonza’s counsel, said the court has also allowed Sonza to post P10,000 bail for his temporary liberty.
Sonza has been in detention since July 18 after he was intercepted by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as he was bound for Hong Kong.
The case for syndicated large-scale illegal recruitment before QCRTC Branch 100 and another illegal recruitment case before QCRTC Branch 215 have been dismissed.
However, aside from the libel case, he is facing 11 counts of estafa before QCRTC Branch 100.
Torreon said the pending estafa cases are also bailable. He said they would post bail for both the estafa and libel cases next week.
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