Bishop Pablo Virgilio David. INQUIRER file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David on Wednesday denied having met Senator Antonio Trillanes and Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who claims to be “Bikoy” in the video series which linked President Rodrigo Duterte’s relatives and allies to the illegal drug trade.
The Caloocan Bishop issued the statement after Advincula claimed that he met several priests, including David, to discuss means to publicize the videos in a move to unseat Duterte and ensure the loss of administration-backed senatorial candidates in the recently concluded elections.
READ: PNP to probe claims of ‘Bikoy’ vs priests, ex-DepEd chair
“Last Monday ‘Bikoy’ appeared in another press conference sponsored by the PNP [Philippine National Police] claiming that he had attended a meeting with me and Senator Trillanes and a certain Jonel at my residence in Caloocan City,” David said in a Facebook post.
“First of all, I wish to make it clear that I have never had the privilege of meeting with Senator [Antonio] Trillanes in person and I do not know the Jonel he was talking about,” he added.
The bishop then called on the PNP to focus its investigation on several “unresolved” deaths in northern Metro Manila rather than investigating the claims of Advincula.
“As far as I know, most of the thousands of killings called DUI [Death Under Investigation] remain ‘under investigation,’ meaning, unresolved. As bishop of Kalookan, I sincerely wish the PNP could give more time and effort at investigating the truth behind these killings than giving credence to the lies now being peddled by a certain Peter Advincula, alias ‘Bikoy,’” David said.
David also defended other priests who Advincula claimed of meeting, saying they “may have made no other mistake than believing that the man’s life was really in danger and that he needed sanctuary.”
“Jesus was right in saying that he expected his disciples to be ‘innocent as doves but clever as serpents.’ Could some naive and well-meaning people in the Church have ended up being stung by a hungry serpent whom they had fed?” David said.
David also questioned the sudden change of PNP’s view of Advincula, saying that when the latter changed his story and claimed that it was the opposition who orchestrated the videos, the police decided to investigate the case.
READ: ‘Bikoy’ says claims in narco videos are lies, tags LP, Trillanes
“What I find most strange about the PNP’s apparent seriousness in wanting to investigate the allegations of ‘Bikoy’ is that when it was people close to the President whom he was earlier implicating, they immediately called him a liar,” David said.
“Now that he has changed his story and is implicating practically all personalities in the opposition—insinuating that he had merely been used by them in a supposedly well-orchestrated plot to unseat the government—’his truth’ [according to the PNP Director] needs to be investigated,” he added.
PNP chief Police General Oscar Albayalde, meanwhile, said that it will probe Advincula’s claims of meeting several priests.
Albayalde, however, insisted that the authorities do not consider Advincula’s claims as “gospel truth” as he needs to support his allegations with evidence.
. (Editors: Jonathan P. Vicente/Mike U. Frialde)