Court dismisses illegal recruitment cases vs. Jay Sonza By JOVILAND RITA, GMA Integrated News

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court has dismissed two cases filed against veteran broadcaster Jay Sonza, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said on Thursday. BJMP spokesperson Jail Chief Inspector Jayrex Joseph Bustinera told GMA News Online that QC RTC Branch 100 has "provisionally" dismissed the syndicated and large-scale illegal recruitment case filed against Sonza due to the complainant's failure to attend the hearings. Similarly, QC RTC Branch 215 has "provisionally" dismissed the illegal recruitment case against the veteran broadcaster. According to the order, Assistant City Prosecutor Joseph Seares said the private complainants in the case failed to coordinate with him despite his serious efforts to reach out. "Given the consent of the accused who is virtually present… and in view of the manifestation of the public prosecutor indicating lack of interest to prosecute this case, on the part of the private complainants, the motion of the defense is hereby granted," the order read. Bustinera said provisionally dismissed means that the case may be revived within two years if there is new evidence or reason to reopen it. However, Sonza will have to remain in detention due to cases still pending before the court: 11 counts of estafa in QC RTC Branch 100 and a libel case in QC RTC Branch 77. "Still in custody," Bustinera said when asked if Sonza is already released following the dismissal of his illegal recruitment cases. Meanwhile, the RTC Branch 77 set the arraignment and pre-trial hearing on Sonza’s libel case on August 18, 2023. The bail amount for his libel case is at P10,000. “Yung libel has bail of P10,000. 'Yung estafa, we are checking pa (The libel case has a P10,000 bail. We are still checking regarding estafa),” the BJMP official said. Sonza is currently detained at the Quezon City Jail - Ligtas COVID Center Quarantine Facility in Payatas, Quezon City. A report by Allan Gatus on Super Radyo dzBB said arraignment for Sonza's libel case is set on Friday via videoconferencing. According to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Sonza was about to leave the country for Hong Kong on July 18 when he was stopped by Bureau of Immigration personnel at the airport. He was then turned over to the NBI Airport Investigation Division for the serving of the arrest warrant, and then to the BJMP. Bustinera earlier said Sonza was received by the BJMP on August 3, 2023 through a commitment order from QC RTC Branch 100.— with Joahna Lei Casilao/KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POPCOM, gagamit ng ‘digital platforms’ para pagtibayin ang mga ugnayang pampamilya

Mas pinalalawig ng Komisyon sa Populasyon at Pagpapaunlad (POPCOM) ang adhikain nitong pagpapalaganap at pagpapabuti ng pakikipag-ugnayan ng mga nakakatandang Pilipino sa kanilang mga anak na nagdadalaga at nagbibinata. Nitong Setyembre 21, ang POPCOM ay nagsagawa ng isang “parent-teen talk webinar” gamit ang Zoom, kung saan ang isang “interactive program” ang nagbigay ng naaayon na kaalaman at kasanayan sa mga magulang, habang tumulong ito sa mga anak na teenager na maabot ang kanilang buong potensyal. Hinikayat din nito ang mga nanay at tatay na sumali sa malayang usapan, lalo na sa mga usapin ukol sa sex at sekswalidad, na nakikitang makakatulong upang bumaba ang mga bilang ng mga pagbubuntis sa hanay ng mga kabataan. Maaaring mapanood ang webinar sa https://youtu.be/lZ9jrJCjYas. Ayon kay Ikalawang Kalihim (Undersecretary) Juan Antonio A. Perez III, MD, MPH, “ang webinar ay naging isang tagapag-simula at ‘padaluyan’ ng pag-uu
Read more

UP Diliman Professors Share Scientists’ Procurement Struggles at Senate Hearing

By Harvey Sapigao Senate hearing of the revised procurement law (Photo credit: Senate of the Philippines) College of Science (CS) Dean Giovanni Tapang held up a little white device as he finished his presentation. “This is a ₱150,000 component,” he described. “Isa lang gumagawa nito sa buong mundo, pero ang hirap pilitin sila na magregister sa PhilGEPS,” he continued, referring to the requirement that foreign companies must first register to the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) before they can sell products to local scientists. Marine Science Institute (MSI) Deputy Director Dr. Irene Rodriguez explained that the small device is a resin that filters metals in water. “May budget tayo,” she said, “pero ang problema ko ay ‘yung resin na ito.” This and other bottlenecks brought about by the procurement law, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184), slow down research and development in the country. UPD leaders were invited to the Senate he
Read more

Gaza war rages into fourth month as Blinken tours Middle East Adel Zaanoun with Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem, --- Agence France-Presse

The Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza entered its fourth month on Sunday as the army again pounded the besieged Palestinian territory and US top diplomat Antony Blinken was back in the region seeking to avoid a wider escalation. Israeli airstrikes overnight and early Sunday killed at least 64 people in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, said its health ministry. It said two journalists were killed when their car was struck. The ministry, medics, and witnesses identified them as Mustafa Thuria, a video stringer for Agence France-Presse, and Hamza Wael Dahdouh, the son of Al Jazeera's bureau chief in Gaza who earlier lost his wife and two other children in an Israeli strike. Israeli bombardment also claimed other civilian lives in the southern city of Khan Yunis and in the Rafah area near the Egyptian border, where many of the territory's displaced people have sought refuge, AFP correspondents reported. Relatives were mourning the dead at Khan Yunis' European Hospital, am
Read more