Veteran journalist Jay Sonza was ordered to be released after several days of being behind bars for serious charges filed against him.
According to the decision released by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, the people who filed syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment against Sonza didn’t appear during the hearing.
The non-appearance of the private complainants against Sonza made the court to decide to withdraw the charges against Sonza.
“This is not the first time that they failed to appear. Upon motion of the accused, without objection on the part of the people, considering that with the non-appearance of private complainants, the guild of the accused could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, the instant case is hereby DISMISSED PROVISIONALLY with the express consent and conformity of accused,” the court decision read.
However, Sonza was still not free as he still needed to post bail for another charge he was facing.
He was expected to pay P10,000 for his temporary liberty next Friday.
It can be recalled that Sonza was one of the revered journalists in the country from the 80s to the 2000s.
He also hosted one of the most popular talk shows in the Philippines, ‘Mel and Jay’ together with Mel Tiangco who was still active as a broadcaster as of writing.