In this photo, taken on Sunday, March 24, 2019, former Police Col. Eduardo Acierto presents a copy of a police report he allegedly submitted but not acted upon by police higher-ups and Senate probes during a clandestine news conference for the first time with a select group of journalists somewhere in Metro Manila. Acierto, who was assigned in various units of the police anti-illegal drugs for 18 years, is now in hiding after being included in President Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called matrix list of persons allegedly involved in the illegal drug trade. (Photo by BULLIT MARQUEZ / AP)
MANILA, Philippines — The opposition Liberal Party (LP) had also used dismissed Police Col. Eduardo Acierto to divert the attention of the public from the real pressing issues in the country, Peter Joemel Advincula, the man claiming to be “Bikoy,” alleged on Thursday.
Advincula earlier surrendered to the Northern Police District and revealed in a press conference at Camp Crame that his claims in the narcolist videos were all lies and orchestrated by LP “under the handling” of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
READ: ‘Bikoy’ says claims in videos are lies, tags LP, Trillanes
“Maraming nauna, katulad no’ng pagsalita ni Jojo Acierto na iniuugnay niya si Senator-elect Christopher Lawrence Tesoro Go sa isang Michael Yang, kasama ‘yon doon sa scripted ng grupo para ma-divert ‘yong sambayanan sa talagang totoo na nangyayari sa bayan,” he said. “Jojo” is Acierto’s nickname.
(There were earlier movements [of the opposition], like the revelation of Jojo Acierto linking Senator-elect Christopher Lawrence Tesoro Go to a certain Michael Yang. It was among the plans of the group to divert the attention of the people to the real situation in the country.)
Acierto went into hiding in October 2018 since being implicated in the billions worth of “shabu” smuggled into the country through magnetic lifters, but surfaced to select reporters in March this year and claimed Yang and another Chinese national Allan Lim were linked to illegal drugs.
Yang is a former economic adviser of President Rodrigo Duterte.
According to Advincula, the appearance of Acierto was a prelude to the narcolist videos.
“Hindi lang naka-meeting. Ilang beses namin siyang nakasama… Advance party ko si Col. Jojo… Para mas maging kapani-paniwala ‘yung ‘Ang Totoong Narcolist,’ advance party, mind-conditioning si Col. Jojo Acierto,” he said.
(I was not just able to meet him. We were with him several times. Colonel Jojo was my advance party. Col. Jojo Acierto is meant for mind-conditioning so that the narcolist videos will be more believable.)
In the series of videos titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist,” Advincula, who earlier claimed being a former member of a drug syndicate, had linked close allies and relatives of the President in the drug trade.
But as he backtracked, he said he can no longer bear with his supposedly false claims, and said that those who contacted him to do the videos are abandoning him now, especially since the opposition failed to field a candidate in the senatorial race. (Editor: Jonathan P. Vicente)
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