Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said Peter Joemel Advincula, the self-confessed “Bikoy” in the viral “Ang Totoong Narco-List” videos who retracted his story and accused Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and other opposition leaders of orchestrating the alleged ouster of President Rodrigo Duterte, is now on his own and does not have government protection.
Guevarra said Advincula had not sought further protection from the government after he was released from protective custody of the Philippine National Police last week.
“Bikoy has not applied for WPP [witness protection program]. Neither has he sought protective custody with the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation],” he said in a text message.
This means there is currently no security provided by the government to Advincula.
Nonetheless, Guevarra reiterated that Advincula might apply for coverage of WPP, which is administered by the Department of Justice], amidst concerns on his security.
He stressed Advincula might immediately be placed under protection of NBI under provision coverage of WPP upon his application and submission of an affidavit.
“He may apply for WPP coverage but of course he has to meet certain requirements to qualify for full coverage under the program,” he said.
The DOJ chief explained that Advincula would first have to cooperate with the NBI and submit a sworn affidavit detailing the allegations he made when he surrendered to the PNP last May.
He said the status of Advincula under the program would then depend on DOJ’s evaluation on his credibility as a possible prosecution witness.
Advincula, who surfaced last May 6 to confess he was the hooded man who accused members of the first family of involvement in illegal drug trade in the viral “Ang Totoong Narco-List” videos, surrendered to the PNP weeks after over pending estafa and illegal recruitment cases.
He said his allegations in the videos were not true and that he was only paid by Trillanes and the opposition as part of the so-called Oplan Sodoma to oust President Duterte.
Advincula also alleged that he saw Vice President Leni Robredo “pass by” one of their meetings, but stressed that she did not join them.
Apart from Robredo and Trillanes, Advincula also tagged Senators Leila de Lima and Risa Hontiveros as well as personalities from the Liberal Party in the alleged ouster plot.
Guevarra earlier tapped the NBI to conduct fact-finding investigation on Advincula’s claims “considering the gravity of his allegations then and now, any and all questions regarding the veracity and the truthfulness of those allegations.”
The DOJ chief also cited the “serious implications of those revelations (by Advincula).”
Earlier this month, businessman Arven Valmores of Ardeur World Marketing also filed a new estafa complaint against Advincula before the DOJ.
Prominent Bicolano businessman Elizaldy Co and his posh Misibis Bay Resort have also filed a P1-billion cyber libel suit against Advincula and social media giants Facebook and Youtube for the video that implicated them in illegal drug trade.