MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde has maintained that the accusations of Peter Joemel Advincula or “Bikoy” in the narcolist videos were “substantially accurate.”
Albayalde said Thursday that the CIDG, which filed sedition and piles of other criminal charges against Vice President Leni Robredo and 35 other personalities tagged in the release of the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” (The Real Narcolist) series, also had other evidence that supported Advincula’s affidavit.
READ: Sedition case filed vs Robredo, 35 others over ‘Bikoy’ videos
“Remember, the statements of Bikoy or Peter Joemel Advincula accordingly were substantially accurate because they are supported by other documentary evidence and other sources,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News Channel.
“That is according to the investigation conducted by the CIDG,” he explained, adding that those accused “will have their time in court.”
But despite the filing of the cases, Albayalde said the PNP is not saying that it trusts Advincula and his claims. He said it is up to the court to decide on Advincula’s credibility.
He also clarified that PNP does not mean that Robredo is guilty of involvement in the series, supposedly part of the “Project Sodoma” aimed at removing President Rodrigo Duterte from office and installing Robredo and Senator Antolio Trillanes IV as President and Vice President, respectively.
“The filing [of cases] as I have said is already substantiated by evidence that necessitates [and] that would suffice for the conduct of preliminary investigation, and now the DOJ (Department of Justice) has the sole discretion on the case, not us to determine if the VP is involved,” Albayalde said.
Asked why Robredo, being the second highest leader in the land, was implicated in the cases, Albayalde said: “First of all she was implicated by no less than Peter Advincula” and that there are other “sources” who said she was possibly involved in the videos.
“I think since the start we already said that Bikoy has to support his allegations with evidence. That’s precisely what he did. He came out with this CPU, this computer, his laptop, and all other sources according to investigators,” the PNP chief said.
Albayalde added that the CIDG will continue its investigation even after cases have been filed before the DOJ, and that those accused can also submit their counter-affidavits to the CIDG or directly to the court.
He said he thinks Advincula, who is also one of the respondents in the complaint filed by the police, would soon be applying for the witness protection program.
To recall, Advincula claimed he was “Bikoy” or the hooded man in the narcolist videos implicating the First Family with illegal drugs. He later recanted his accusations in a press conference hosted by the PNP and said the Liberal Party and Trillanes orchestrated the creation of the series to create noise during the recent elections. /je
READ: ‘Bikoy’ says claims in narco videos are lies, tags LP, Trillanes