The Philippine National Police (PNP) has taken custody of Peter Joemel Advincula alias "Bikoy," the self-confessed hooded figure in the controversial "Ang Totoong Narco-list" (The real narco-list) videos, for perjury, a police spokesperson confirmed Friday.
Brigadier General Ildebrandi Usana, PNP spokesperson, said the 31-year-old Advincula was the subject of a warrant of arrest issued by Hon. Immaculada Concepcion Ylagan-Galang, presiding judge of Manila Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 17, for the crime of perjury. His recommended bail was set at P18,000.
However, Advincula surrendered to Daraga Municipal Police Station (MPS) in Albay around 12:35 p.m. Thursday.
"The CIDG Provincial Field Unit of Albay served the warrant of arrest against Advincula, who was subsequently placed under custody of Daraga MPS after undergoing the mandatory booking procedure and documentation," Usana said.
Advincula was ordered arrested after it was proven that he was "making untruthful statements under oath" before the court when he claimed that Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) members and human rights lawyers Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno, Lorenzo "Erin" Tanada III, and Theodore Te were part of "Project Sodoma," a supposed ouster plot against President Duterte.
Advincula claimed that Diokno and Tanada met at the Ateneo Long Hall to plot the destabilization of the Duterte government but prosecutors found out that it was an "outright lie." The meeting was actually a senatorial forum at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Advincula also claimed that he met Te, former Supreme Court spokesman, to discuss the Duterte ouster plot.
However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the meeting was actually about Advincula's request to FLAG for the possible provision of legal assistance to him, a plea that was eventually rejected by the group.
Advincula made headlines in 2019 after he revealed to the public that he was the mysterious hooded figure behind the Ang Totoong Narco-list, a series of videos uploaded on social media detailing the alleged connection of Duterte and his family and close friends to an illegal drug syndicate.
However, when a manhunt was launched against him by the police, Advincula surrendered to authorities and appeared at a press briefing in Camp Crame, Quezon City where he flip-flopped and accused the Liberal Party of using him in a smear camapaign against Duterte.
This prompted the PNP to file sedition charges against Vice President Leni Robredo, former senator Antonio Trillanes IV, religious leaders, and several other opposition figures, basing their commplaints on Advincula's statements alone.
Most of the cases were already dismissed but the DOJ had filed charges for conspiracy to commit sedition against Trillanes, Advincula, and nine others in January 2020.