‘Bikoy’ faces another estafa complaint at DOJ for botched beauty pageant

MANILA, Philippines —A criminal complaint for estafa has been filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Peter Joemel Advincula – who earlier claimed to be “Bikoy” – for organizing a beauty pageant and later disappearing without giving the winners their prizes and paying the pageant’s staff.

Complainant Arven E. Valmores of Ardeur World Marketing said Advincula used his corporate name and logo for the promotion of the beauty pageant in 2018 without his consent.

Valmores, in his complaint said Advincula and his business organization Exodus Phil 79 was a mere distributor of his company’s products without any employer-employee relationship.

Advincula hired a production director and staff and the pageant, “Miss Scenti Essencia Ambassadress 2018” was completed on Aug. 11, 2018.

“Respondent never attended the coronation night and became unreachable thereafter leaving all the members of the production staff unpaid,” read the complaint.

The staff and the winners, he said started communicating with him.

Feeling the pressure and the possible negative impact to his business, he said he was forced to shell out P304, 422.00 to pay the winners and staff.

“Respondent because unreachable and efforts to locate him to answer for his misrepresentation remained until recently where he surfaced at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines,” the complainant said. /muf