A Pasay court has apologized to former broadcaster Jay Sonza after incorrectly classifying his unlawful publication case as non-bailable — an error it corrected on Saturday by setting bail at P10,000, which Sonza has since posted.
Despite meeting the bail requirement, Sonza remained in NBI custody as of yesterday. His lawyer, Mark Tolentino, said field operatives were awaiting instructions from higher up before proceeding with the release. “Based on the information we received, operatives are still waiting for instructions from the NBI central office before releasing Sonza,” Tolentino wrote on Facebook.
Sonza was taken into NBI custody on Thursday and brought to the bureau’s custodial facility in Muntinlupa. The charges against him stem from allegations that he and vlogger Eric Celiz circulated fabricated medical records of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. online.
Tolentino also raised a jurisdictional question about where the case was filed, arguing that Pasay was the wrong venue. “Based on my research, the complaint was filed in Pasay on the ground that the main office of the NBI is here,” he told reporters. “If you check the information, the alleged offended party is the President. So it should not be filed here since Marcos has no house or office in Pasay.”
Pasay RTC Branch 118 Judge Rowena Nieves Tan moved Sonza’s arraignment to June 3 after his legal team submitted a motion to quash. Co-accused Celiz, whose case falls under a separate branch of the same court, had bail set at P36,000 for the same charge.
