No ouster meetings happened inside campus — Ateneo
MANILA, Philippines — The Ateneo de Manila University denied the allegation of Peter Joemel Advincula—the man claiming to be “Bikoy”—that some members of the Liberal Party often held meetings inside the campus to plan the alleged plot to unseat President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I would like to inform the university community that the Ateneo de Manila University did not convene or organize any of the meetings alleged by Peter Joemel “Bikoy” Advincula to have taken place on campus,” Ateneo President Jose Ramon Villarin said in a memorandum posted on Facebook Thursday evening.
He added: “The university categorically denies insinuations made this morning that it is party to a plot to overthrow the present government of the Republic of the Philippines.”
In a press conference at the Philippine National Police Thursday, Advincula—whose credibility has since been questioned—resurfaced to tell a different story. He now claims the video series—in which he is the hooded individual tagging Duterte’s relatives and allies in the illegal drug trade—was an orchestrated lie.
Advincula said the video series were made to discredit the current and tagged the Liberal Party and outgoing Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV for the production.
His claims were denied by these individuals, including Vice President Leni Robredo who chairs the erstwhile ruling party. She also denied the allegation that she “passed by” one of the Otso Diretso meetings at Ateneo but did not attend.
The vice president said the last time she was in the campus was in December 2018 for a Christmas party.
“Walang any political meeting na nangyari sa Ateneo. Kaya pag sinabi niyang nagkita kami, talagang sinungaling siya kasi never ‘yun nangyari,” Robredo said.
(No political meeting took place in Ateneo. So if he says that we met, he is really a liar because that never happened.)
Ateneo’s Villarin said “it reserves all of its rights to seek redress for any damages which may be wrought by such reckless claim and takes seriously the imperative to uphold the rule of law in our democracy.”
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