Bikoy saga weaves new tale of betrayal

Editorial

BY THE MANILA TIMES

MAY 24, 2019

The “Bikoy” saga is turning more into a twisting thriller worthy of a place in Agatha Christie’s crime fiction.

In a press conference yesterday at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters in Camp Crame, Peter Joemel Advincula, the self-confessed Bikoy in the anti-Duterte video series, made a complete turnaround and declared as fake his previous “Ang Totoong Narcolist” claims linking the Duterte family to the illegal drug trade.

He said it was all scripted to destroy the credibility of the Duterte administration to pave the way for this President’s ouster.

He then made new “revelations” about who were behind the Oust-Duterte plot with these details:

— The “Ang Totoong Narcolist” video series was part of a bigger plot to oust President Rodrigo Duterte as organized by the Liberal Party under the supervision of Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th as the mastermind and puppet master, Advincula said.

Trillanes wanted to topple President Duterte, so Vice President Leni Robredo could succeed him. Robredo as president could then appoint a member of Congress as her vice president. Trillanes expected to be named as the new vice president.

— Essential to the plot was the destruction of Duterte and his family. The Bikoy video series, which is purported to portray the Dutertes as recipients of illegal drug money, is essential to the plot to destroy public trust in the President. This would lead to his overthrow.

Advincula’s main task was to mouth the script written for the character of Bikoy, who made the outrageous “disclosures” in the videos. He said the videos took nine months to produce, which was later hawked on social media.

For his efforts, Advincula was promised the sum of P500,000, which he now claims he never received. Also part of the deal was his clearance from all charges previously filed against him for his other past crimes.

— Additionally, the plot was designed to boost the flagging election chances of the Otso Diretso candidates and the opposition, he said. The scandal over the Duterte drug connection was supposed to repel the voters enough for them to shift their support to the opposition.

— Known members of the Liberal Party took part in the planning and execution of the scheme. The plotters held meetings in a posh condominium, at the Ateneo and La Salle universities, which are both known for harboring anti-Duterte sentiment.

One could not take such “revelations” at face value, of course. They were as hollow as his earlier efforts to smear the reputation of President Duterte.

Bikoy has become more frenetic, even desperate because of the dismal loss of the opposition in the May midterm elections, and the nearing end of Trillanes’ term as senator on June 30 this year.

When Advincula first made his sensational disclosures against Duterte in support of his original Bikoy videos at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines on May 6, seasoned politicians such as former Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile and members of the media quickly pointed the finger of suspicion at Senator Trillanes as the possible mastermind of the entire Bikoy plot.

The plot bore all the signs of a Trillanes caper, foolishly using stratagems and plot lines that the senator has previously used in his many efforts to destroy the President, they said.

The truth should come out in the thorough investigation that should now be conducted on Advincula and the Bikoy saga, and all those implicated in it. That includes the suggested complicity of the Liberal Party and the opposition.

The matter is best investigated by the NBI and the PNP, which have the professional investigative capabilities and resources as they have also been engaged in apprehending Advincula. This is not for politicians to investigate and use for grandstanding.

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