The Philippine National Police (PNP) is set to formally investigate the claims of Peter Joemel Advincula alias “Bikoy” about the supposed ouster plot against President Duterte following his return to its custody, a ranking police official bared Monday.
Police Major General Amador Corpus, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said Advincula returned to the PNP custody on May 27.
“Last Monday, that is May 27, Bikoy returned. He is now under protective custody. He voluntarily surrendered himself and requested for protective custody,” Corpus said.
With Advincula’s return, Police General Oscar Albayalde, PNP chief, said all his claims, including the personalities he linked to the ouster plot, will be investigated.
“All the things Bikoy said will be validated, all the names will be part of our investigation,” Albayalde stated.
Advincula too, despite surrendering to police, is not yet off the hook as he will also be part of the probe.
“Bikoy will be part of the investigation. Remember, he can also be a respondent here. We are not saying that he is already a witness or he’s still a suspect. It’s for the court to decide if he will become a witness or a suspect after we file a case,” Albayalde stated.
Upon his return, Albayalde said Advincula surrendered his cellular phone and some computer parts as additional pieces of evidence to back his claims.
The cellular phone allegedly contained the exchange of messages between Advincula and the security aide of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
Meanwhile, Albayalde said investigators would try to extract data from the computer parts that Advincula yielded. The pieces of evidence were already turned over to the PNP Anti-Cyber Crime Group (ACG).
Advincula, the man claiming to be the hooded figure in the Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos linking President Duterte’s family and close allies in the illegal drug trade, had surrendered to the PNP two weeks ago over supposed threats on his life.
He was presented by the PNP on May 23 at Camp Crame where he recanted his allegations against the President.
He then claimed he was used by Trillanes and the Liberal Party to launch Project Sodoma to discredit the administration and boost the chances of Otso Diretso candidates in the elections.
Trillanes, the Liberal Party and the Otso Diretso candidates all denied taking part in the making of the narcolist videos and the ouster plot against Duterte. (Martin A. Sadongdong)