Trillanes: Video, SMS belie ‘Bikoy’ claims

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday showed the exchange of text messages between Peter Joemel Advincula who first appeared as the hooded man known only as “Bikoy” in the series of videos titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist” (The Real Narcolist), and the priest who had sheltered him.

“I just want to correct the impression that [Advincula] had created about the alleged ouster plot hatched by the critics of the Duterte administration,” Trillanes said of the man whose series of videos on social media initially exposed the alleged links of President Rodrigo Duterte’s family to drug syndicates.

Trillanes also made public in the news briefing a four-minute video showing Advincula, who seemed to be drunk, claiming how businessman Zaldy Co, the owner of the posh Misibis Bay resort in Albay, had ordered the killing of several people, including Advincula’s uncle.

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In the video, Advincula said he would have provided more information had Sen. Panfilo Lacson pushed through with the Senate investigation into his allegations.

The senator also provided a copy of Advincula’s sworn affidavit which he had signed on May 6, the day he first appeared in public in an Integrated Bar of the Philippines press conference.

Advincula, who was facing a string of criminal cases, eventually yielded to the police and made a surprising turnaround, claiming Trillanes, Vice President Leni Robredo and other opposition figures had promised to pay him P500,000 to discredit the President.

Appearing in a press briefing arranged by the Philippine National Police last month, Advincula said the video series was also intended to help boost the campaign of the opposition Otso Diretso party in the May 13 polls.

“What I have presented to you belied (Advincula’s) claim that he was just following a script. That’s not true,” Trillanes said.

Copies of the text messages that Advincula supposedly sent to the mobile phone of the priest who helped him revealed that he was insistent in coming out with his accusations against the President.

Trillanes said the text messages disproved Advincula’s allegation that the Liberal Party had approached him to invent the accusations against the President.