PNP leaves it up to court if Advincula can be witness for sedition vs Robredo, senators

July 19, 2019

The Philippine National Police ( PNP) on Friday said it will be up to the court if they will use Peter Joemel Advincula as a witness for the sedition case filed by the PNP- Criminal Investigation and Detection Group against Vice President Leni Robredo, senators and other opposition members.

“That depends on the appreciation of the court because he will surely file a witness protection and it will be on the decision of the court,” said Police General Oscar Albayalde said in a TV interview.

The PNP chief said it took CIDG more than one month to investigate the case.

“That will depends on the outcome of the investigation that was conducted by the CIDG that’s why they were able to file a case. Remember, they are the one holding the case,” he said.

“(They are) investigating for more than a month and based on the statements not only from 'Bikoy' ( who is the alleged alias of Advincula) but also from those people who were subpoena based on who 'Bikoy' mentioned and of course, based on what the evidence presented,” Albayalde added.

He said Advincula is also included in the case filed by the CIDG.

It can be recalled that the PNP called Advincula an “information peddler” when he presented himself at the Intergrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and revealed he is the one behind the “Ang Totoong Narcolist (The Real Narcolist)” videos.

The videos claim President Rodrigo Duterte and those who are close to him as those behind the illegal drug trade in the country.

Albayalde said the CIDG conducted a series of investigation before coming out with a case against the vice president.

“They gave a lot of subpoena and I think if they gathered statement maybe some corroborate on what 'Bikoy' is saying,” he said.

He did not say what evidence the CIDG has that made them decide to file a case aside from Advincula’s cellphone and CPU from his computer that were given to CIDG.

After pointing to Duterte, Advincula then surrendered to the PNP and retracted his statement saying it was the opposition party who instructed him to make those accusations.

He added that the opposition made those videos to remove Duterte from office and will then be replaced by Robredo.

He was placed under CIDG custody while his statements are being validated and then left the headquarters sometime last month.

On Thursday, the CIDG filed inciting to sedition charges before the Department of Justice against Robredo, Senators Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV and several others, in connection with their alleged involvement in the videos.

In the letter-complaint, the CIDG asked the DOJ to prosecute the respondents for inciting to sedition, cyber libel, libel estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice.

Advincula named all these personalities as behind “Project Sodoma” and the people who neglected him after the “Otso Diresto”, opposition’s candidates lost in the last election.

Project Sodoma is the alleged plan of the opposition to remove Duterte from office. Ella Dionisio/DMS