MANILA, Philippines – Former broadcaster Jay Sonza, who has been detained for weeks over various charges, was released from detention after posting bail, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said on Tuesday, August 22.

In a message to Rappler, BJMP spokesperson Jail Chief Inspector Jayrex Bustinera confirmed Sonza’s release and said the former broadcaster was released from jail at 8:57 pm, Tuesday. Sonza was detained at Ligtas Covid Center Quarantine Facility of the Quezon City Jail.

Bustinera said Sonza posted bail for his 11 counts of estafa pending before Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 100. The BJMP spokesperson said they received the release order at 6 pm, Tuesday.

The former broadcaster also posted bail for his pending libel case before QC RTC Branch 77. His two other cases, syndicated and large scale illegal recruitment pending before QC RTC Branch 100, and another illegal recruitment case pending before QC RTC Branch 215, were already dismissed.

Sonza secured release orders for all of his cases, paving the way for his temporary liberty. Bustinera said they verified if Sonza has other cases and found no other pending charges.

On August 15, the BJMP confirmed that Sonza was detained for estafa (Article 315, Paragraph 2a of the Revised Penal Code) and syndicated and large scale illegal recruitment (Section 6(m), in relation to Section 7b) of Republic Act No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

Immigration personnel intercepted Sonza when he was about to fly to Hong Kong on July 18 after learning that he had an arrest warrant. – Rappler.com