‘Bikoy’ wanted in Baguio, Benguet for various crimes

BAGUIO CITY  , Philippines  —  Peter Joemel Advincula, who claimed to be “Bikoy” the hooded narrator in viral videos that linked President Duterte’s relatives and aides to the illegal drug trade, is also a wanted man in Baguio City and nearby Benguet province for various crimes.

Advincula surfaced on Monday and said he was the man in the video as he sought legal aid from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and denied ties to the opposition. The IBP, however, denied his request for legal assistance.

In YouTube videos titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist,” Bikoy claimed that drug money was funneled into the bank accounts of Duterte’s son, former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte, his son-in-law Manases Carpio and former special assistant now senatorial candidate Christopher Go.

Advincula was convicted of large scale estafa for illegal recruitment operations in Bicol and was detained at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa in 2016.

He was released for good conduct after serving over a year of his sentence of six to eight years in prison.

Advincula also has at least two pending cases in Baguio and Benguet.

On Sept. 13, 2007, Judge Ruben Ayson of the Baguio City regional trial court issued an arrest warrant for Advincula for illegal recruitment.  

Police launched a manhunt for Advincula, who used an alias “R.B Santos,” and his associates John Paul Rafael Benedict Santos, Arcangel de Leon, Nora Enriquez, Joy Caoile, Lorena Camba alias “Lory Camba” and Jaime Gaupo Jr., who were all using the address Colegio de la Pontifical Academia at No. 9, Purok 4, Outlook Drive, Baguio City.

In another case, Advincula together with the same cohorts were charged with two estafa cases before the sala of Judge Delilah Gonzales-Muñoz, municipal trial court of La Trinidad, Benguet.

The judge also issued a warrant of arrest on Sept. 26, 2007.

Both of these complaints against Advincula were investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation Cordillera office.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has formed tracker teams to monitor the movements of Advincula.

PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde said investigators are also verifying reports that Advincula has pending criminal cases in other parts of the country or if he has standing arrest warrants so the police could apprehend him.

Albayalde said Advincula had previously duped two law enforcement agencies with false information on the illegal drug trade and he collected compensation as a tipster.

Police handlers

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said yesterday that five to six ranking police officials were among the handlers of Advincula who worked as an asset.

Lacson, however, refused to identify the police officials, noting some of them have retired from the service.

It is a small group of five to six officers that included graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, Lacson told the Kapihan sa Senado media forum.

Lacson said the police officials’ motive was apparently that they wanted to be noticed by President Duterte and be given good positions in the police organization.

Even if Albayalde asks him about their identities, Lacson does not intend to identify them but he intends to talk to them about Advincula.

Lacson admitted that some PNP members still subscribe to the culture of using political connections to be appointed to juicy posts.

Albayalde confirmed that some senior police officers whom he did not identify have talked with Advincula a few years ago because of the latter’s alleged information about the illegal drug trade in the country.

Advincula, according to Albayalde, communicated with the police officers in the guise of supporting Dutete’s war on illegal drugs.

“We develop whatever information we get from a certain person,” he said.

PNP spokesman Col. Bernard Banac said they are validating the information that Advincula peddled information to some police officers.

What is certain is the police officers whom Advincula talked to did not believe his statements.

“If the motivation of an informant is getting money, that is suspicious,” Banac said at a news briefing in Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Advincula allegedly demanded P40,000 to P50,000 in exchange for the information he would share.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III revealed that Advincula first approached him on May 6, 2016 to help him expose what he claimed to be government officials involved in the illegal drug trade.

Sotto said the information previously provided by Advincula was not believable and he just ignored it. 

In the aborted expose in 2016, Sotto said Advincula had identified a certain patriarch, some codes and implicated then president Benigno Aquino III, former interior secretary Mar Roxas, former justice secretary Leila de Lima, Teresita Raniola, Reps. Fernando Gonzales, Luis Villafuerte and Thomas Enrile as alleged patrons of the Quadrangle Syndicate.

Sotto said the patriarch also included former Albay governor Joey Salceda, Rep. LRay Villafuerte, Gov. Eggay Tallado, Gov. Joseph Cua, Vice Gov. Kruni Escudero and they all had numeric codes.

Advincula mentioned former agriculture secretary Proseso Alcala, former interior undersecretary Ricardo Puno, Senior Supt. Regondola, Senior Supt. Clik, Senior Supt. Bardin and Ronnie Dayang, Sotto added.

Sotto said Advincula’s latest statement against Duterte’s relatives and other officials was apparently a reproduction of his 2016 statement.

Lacson also said he wanted to warn Sen. Leila de Lima, who earlier supported the call for Senate investigation on Bikoy’s allegation.  With Emmanuel Tupas, Cecille Suerte Felipe