Actress Julia Barretto formally filed a cybercrime case against former broadcaster Jay Sonza at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) today, Sept. 25, over rumors of her alleged pregnancy by Gerald Anderson that came out on Sonza’s Facebook page last Sept. 21.
Barretto, accompanied by her mother Marjorie Barretto, personally appeared before the NBI Cybercrime Division to ask the Bureau to investigate the “untrue and irresponsible statements” made by Sonza on his social media account.
She is bent on pursuing the case even if Sonza posted a succeeding post last Wednesday retracting his earlier statements.
Barretto said, "I am pursuing this case because the statements made by Mr. Sonza are untrue and irresponsible. The widespread reposting of the news based on his post caused distress to me and my family. I don't want to take this matter lightly. Mr. Sonza, and all those who publish these reckless and baseless posts, must be held accountable for their actions so that they think twice before claiming things as fact.”
Following is the excerpt of Sonza’s Facebook post about Julia and Gerald last Monday, Sept. 21.
“Dito muna tayo sa mga balitang may katotohanan, may pag-iibigan, may pinagsaluhang nakakapanginig ng laman at higit sa lahat, nagbunga. Napatunayan nina Visoy (visayan tisoy) Gerald Anderson at anak nina Dennis Padilla at Marjorie Barretto na si Julia Barreto na kapuwa hindi sila baog (sterile). After months of love lockdown and ESQ (exact sex quadrant) - may nabuo sa sinapupunan ni Julia.”
(His next lines are in Visayan) “Nahinayak ang batang Dadiangas. Nasiyot man jud oi. Kapugngan pay tren, dili ang gugmang gauros uros tawon. Happy Monday po. Makikibalita ako kung kaolin ang kasal sa aking neighbor.”
Let this be a lesson to all irresponsible writers, broadcasters, and vloggers who invent stories and deliver fake news in their outlets.
How we wish someone who has been reported to have died would also file a case against these fake news mongers, like Sen. Bong Revilla, Gary Valenciano, Ai Ai de las Alas and many more.
They do to serve as clickbait so viewers would find it irresistible to click their sites and they would get more hits, even if they’re delivering false stories.
As for Jay Sonza, a lot of feel sorry for him. As veteran writer Cristy Fermin commented in her “Take It Per Minute” digital show:
“He used to be one of our best broadcasters specially during the time of ‘Mel & Jay’ with Mel Tiangco. But now, ni wala na siyang career. Sa Facebook na lang siya nagsusulat.”
He’s a diehard Duterte defender but it seems Malacanang doesn’t appreciate his efforts to champion Digong, unlike Mocha, Robin Padilla, Arnel Ignacio, Jimmy Bondoc and other showbiz supporters who are now enjoying the good graces of their benefactor.
He even ran for public office but lost. Does he expect to revive his career by reporting fake news?
