PNP won’t act, waits for Bikoy’s complaint

MANILA, Philippines — The claims of self-styled “whistleblower” and convicted con man Peter Joemel Advincula, more popularly known as “Bikoy,” have been set aside for now by the Philippine National Police until he files a formal complaint backed with evidence.

This was according to PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde on Monday, days after the supposed hooded man in the viral “Ang Totoong Narcolist” (The True Narcolist) video series surrendered to police over pending estafa charges.

He was taken to Camp Crame to hold a press conference the day after he turned himself in and was in hospital detention the following day due to high blood pressure. He was released on bail over the weekend.

Bikoy is the alias used by an anonymous self-confessed drug syndicate member in a series of online videos accusing the President Rodrigo Duterte’s family and allies of receiving kickbacks in the drug trade.

Advincula surfaced earlier this month to reveal himself to be Bikoy.

Advincula had earlier served six years at the national penitentiary for large-scale illegal recruitment and is facing estafa cases in various courts nationwide.

No less than Albayalde described him as a mercenary “whistleblower” known for being an information peddler to law enforcement agencies.

Orchestrated by LP

During the press conference last week, he claimed the online videos were part of an ouster plot against the President orchestrated by the opposition Liberal Party (LP).

The PNP, consequently, has not made a move on his exposé.

“We need his sworn statement first and we maintain that he has to substantiate his position with evidence, physical and documentary evidence, if he has it,” Albayalde said.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court received a second complaint against the top two officials of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for hosting Advincula’s first press conference on May 6.

Partisan politics

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, representing the group Citizens’ Crime Watch, asked Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin to sanction IBP president Abdiel Fajardo and vice president and incoming president Domingo Cayosa for unilaterally dragging the organization in partisan politics.

Advincula’s televised press conference with the IBP logo behind him “created the impression that the entire IBP is advocating Advincula’s assertions, which in reality cannot be actually said for all its members,” Topacio said in a complaint filed on Monday.

Topacio disputed Fajardo’s claim that IBP officials did not know a press conference will be held, pointing out that the room appeared to have been prepared in advance to accommodate several media members.