Jay Sonza posts P10,000 bail —lawyer

Former TV host Jay Sonza on Monday posted bail amounting to P10,000 for his temporary liberty, according to lawyer Mark Tolentino.

Tolentino said that their camp is waiting for the release order.

Sonza is facing charges for unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances under Article 154 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC), in relation to Republic Act 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 before the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 118 for allegedly spreading false information regarding the health of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Tolentino said that Sonza’s scheduled arraignment today did not push through due to a pending motion to quash with the court.

He said they raised that the information failed to allege that the place of the commission of the alleged offense is Pasay City.

Tolentino also said that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has no legal personality to act as the complainant in the case.

“It is neither the offended party nor possessed of personal knowledge required under the law. Given these fundamental defects, we maintain that the case is legally infirm and subject to dismissal,” he said.

Last week, NBI agents arrested Sonza in Project 8, Quezon City.

His warrant of arrest initially stated that it was “not bailable,” something that Sonza’s camp said was “highly irregular and legally questionable” for the minor offense of unlawful publication.

According to Tolentino, the RTC has formally apologized to Sonza for the issuance of the warrant. He said that, according to the court, the error stemmed from issues with the online platform related to processing bail.

“The Honorable Court clarified that the offense is bailable as a matter of right, and that it had allegedly been waiting for the accused to post bail over the weekend,” he said.

Tolentino said the RTC told them the issuance was not intentional.

“In good faith, and in the interest of moving forward, Manong Jay Sonza and undersigned counsel humbly accept the apology of the Honorable Court— despite the fact that he was unjustly deprived of his liberty for five days,” he said. —AOL, GMA News