Jay Sonza out on bail; arraignment deferred

MANILA, Philippines — Former broadcaster Jay Sonza was released on Monday after he posted bail of P10,000 in connection with the case filed against him for allegedly spreading fake medical information about President Marcos.

Sonza arrived at the Pasig City Regional Trial Court’s Branch 118 around 8:30 a.m. for his scheduled arraignment, but this was rescheduled to June 3 after his camp filed a motion to quash the unlawful publication case against him, citing the court’s lack of jurisdiction.

Sonza’s counsel, Mark Tolentino, said that based on his research, the case was filed in Pasay because the main office of the National Bureau of Investigation is located in the city.

Tolentino, however, noted that since the alleged offended party is Marcos, the complaint should not have been filed in Pasay since Marcos has no office or house in the city.

He also argued the NBI “is not the proper party to file a case” since it has no “personal knowledge” of the allegations against the President, who should be the complainant. According to Tolentino, the court required the Department of Justice to comment on their appeal within 10 days.

Asked for comment, NBI Director Melvin Matibag told reporters, “It was the investigation of the National Bureau of Investigation.

We were the ones who built the case, we were the ones who submitted it to the Department of Justice and the NBI office is in Pasay.”

The NBI arrested Sonza in Quezon City on Thursday over charges it filed against him in February for supposedly spreading fake medical records of the President. —MARY JOY SALCEDO