MANILA, Philippines— The Senate will first evaluate any evidence linking President Rodrigo Duterte’s family and allies into the illegal drug trade before conducting an inquiry.
“As far as the Senate, we will await his sworn statement and whatever supporting evidence he has, after which we will evaluate and proceed from there,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said in a text message on Monday.
“If it merits a Senate inquiry, we definitely will conduct one to hear him and more, if any,” added Lacson, who chairs the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs.
The senator was referring to “Bikoy,” the hooded guy in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” series.
A man claiming to be“Bikoy” surfaced in a press briefing at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and identified himself as Peter Joemel Advincula.
“Ako po si Peter Joemel Advincula, mas kilala ninyo sa pangalang Bikoy. Ako po ay tunay na tao, at hindi kathang isip lang tulad ng sinasabi ng ibang tao,” he said, reading from a prepared statement.
Advincula said he came out to seek IBP’s legal assistance in filing a case against the personalities he linked to the drug syndicate in the videos.
“Ito ay pinangungunahan nina Paolo Duterte, Christopher Bong Tesoro Go, at Maneses Carpio, na asawa ni Sara Duterte ng Davao Group, at ang buong Quadrangle Group na galing sa Bicol,” he said.
READ: ‘Bikoy’ unmasks himself
But Lacson said he hopes the IBP would give the same amount of attention and assistance to anybody seeking legal assistance.
“Otherwise, they might be misunderstood as engaging in political partisanship which could punch a hole and deflate their credibility,” he said.
“By their admission, they haven’t evaluated Bikoy’s accusations yet they provided him their facility and a forum to air his accusations,” the senator added./ac