Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who claimed to be “Bikoy” in the viral video series tagging the First family in the illegal drug trade, has turned himself to the police anew, this time, over a cyberlibel case.
As per media reports, Advincula surrendered to the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) on Monday, July 29, at around 7 p.m.
His surrender came after an arrest warrant was issued by Judge Annielyn Medes-Cabelis, acting presiding judge of the Legazpi City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 5, on July 11. The court set a P10,000 bail bond for Advincula’s temporary liberty.
Last May, Bicolano businessman Elizalde “Zaldy” Co filed cyber libel cases against Advincula after his name was dragged in the controversial videos. In one of its episodes, Advincula claimed that Co was the leader of a drug syndicate that has been operating in Bicol but the latter denied such allegations. However, the police did not make it clear yet whether or not the arrest warrant stemmed from the businessman’s complaint.
Apart from Advincula, Co also sued social media giant Facebook and YouTube for allowing its online platforms to be used in spreading false information.
“Like ‘Bikoy,’ Facebook and YouTube must be held accountable. Our legal system shouldn’t allow them to be part of a systematic campaign to destroy people and simply get away with it,” he earlier said. Co had sought at least P1.1-billion in damages from the respondents.
Advincula earlier said all the allegations he made against the family of President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies were ‘all lies’ and that the viral videos were “orchestrated” by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and the Liberal Party (LP).
On July 18, the PNP-CIDG filed sedition, inciting to sedition, cyber-libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice complaints against opposition figures, including Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo, Trillanes, and Senators Leila De Lima and Risa Hontiveros, among others, over the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos. The opposition personalities had blasted the charges slapped against them, saying it was a form of “harassment.”
[READ: Opposition blasts sedition, other raps filed by PNP-CIDG against them]
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to hold a preliminary investigation into the complaint on August 9.