Warrant out vs Peter Advincula — the man claiming to be 'Bikoy' — for perjury
MANILA, Philippines — A warrant of arrest has been issued against Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who said he was the "Bikoy" in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos, over a perjury charge for linking members of the Free Legal Assistance Group in a supposed ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte.
The Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 17 on January 18 issued a warrant of arrest against Advincula. Bail for the perjury charge is set at P18,000.
The perjury rap against Advincula is an offshoot of a sedition complaint the police filed against more than 30 personalities linked to the political opposition. Advincula was a respondent and witness in the complaint.
Free Legal Assistance Group lawyers Chel Diokno, Theodore Te and Erin Tañada filed the complaint against Advincula, accusing him of lying in his sworn affidavit when he linked them to “Project Sodoma”, a supposed plot to erode trust in the government and lead to Duterte's ouster.
In the end, only 11 people—including Advincula and former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV— named in the police complaint were charged with conspiracy to commit sedition. Complaints against dozens of others, including the FLAG lawyers, were dismissed.
READ: DOJ indicts Trillanes, 10 others on conspiracy to commit sedition over 'Bikoy' videos | DOJ junks sedition raps vs Robredo, Hontiveros, De Lima, 'Otso Diretso' bets
Perjury charge
In the resolution penned by Assistant State Prosecutor Ferdinand Fernandez, the DOJ held that “after careful examination of the above affidavits and evidence attached thereto, the undersigned finds that there is sufficient evidence to conclude that the crime of violation of Articles 183 of the Revised Penal Code had been committed.”
Under the Art. 183 of the RPC, the elements of perjury are:
- That the accused made a statement under oath or executed an affidavit on a material matter
- That the statement or affidavit was made before a competent officer
- That in the statement or affidavit he made a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood
- That the statement or affidavit contains falsity required by the law.
The prosecution held that all these elements are present in the case against Advincula, noting that his sworn affidavit was material in establishing probable cause in the sedition complaint against the opposition figures.
“Likewise, there was deliberate assertion of falsehood against the complainants. There was no showing that the actively participated in the preparation of ‘Project Sodoma,’” the resolution further read.
The prosecution held that Advincula’s allegation against Diokno and Tañada “in planning ‘Project Sodoma’ at Leong Hall of the Ateneo De Manila University campus is an outright lie and perjurious considering that they were there for the purpose of attending a debate entitled #The Leader I Want Senatorial Forum.”
It also said that the Te’s assertion that Advincula made a willfull falsehood when he tagged him as being part of “Project Sodoma” team holds water. The prosecutor noted that Te only met with Advincula once, when the latter sought assistance from FLAG.
The Department of Justice however dismissed a perjury complaint against Police Col. Arnold Thomas Ibay who signed the sedition complaint, since “he was clear and categorical when he referred the investigation records to the DOJ to investigate on the possible crime committed by the persons, based on the facts averred by respondent Advincula and the documentary evidence gathered.”
The FLAG lawyers’ complaint of Offering False Testimony against Advincula and Ibay was also junked as the prosecution noted that not all allegations in the sworn affidavit were considered false.
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