DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 23 May) – Resigned vice mayor Paolo Duterte, newly elected representative of Davao City’s 1st district, said he knew from the start that the so-called “Bikoy” videos were fabricated meant to undermine the Duterte administration.
Resigned vice mayor, now congressman-elect, Paolo Duterte. Mindanews file photo
The presidential son issued a statement on Thursday after Peter Joemel Advincula alias “Bikoy,” allegedly the man in the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos, appeared before the media at the Philippine National Police headquarters at Camp Crame on Thursday to retract his previous claims and to clear the members of the Duterte family of their involvement in illegal drugs.
Advincula accused opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as the one behind the production of the videos.
Paolo said the so-called “Bikoy” videos were fabricated to destroy the reputation of the Dutertes.
“From the very start, it was clear that the Bikoy videos were fabricated with a narrative taken straight from the playbook of people whose desire is to destroy our name and our reputation,” he said.
Paolo resigned from his post as vice mayor in December 2017, supposedly out of delicadeza, after he and brother-in-law Manases Carpio were dragged into the smuggling controversy as members of the so-called Davao Group, the group behind the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China that arrived via the Manila International Container in Tondo, Manila on May 16, 2017.
“All the lies presented were also meant to crush the trust of the Filipino people in the authorities and inspire public disgust against the government — truly the handiwork of people who want to undermine the Duterte administration,” he said.
“Without a doubt, as I have said before, Senator Antonio Trillanes was behind it. And now that many names have also surfaced, to include Sen. Risa Hontiveros and several lawyers, I believe a proper investigation is in order,” he added.
Re-elected Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte said in a separate statement that if she were the leader of the group behind “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos, she would have shot herself in the head and get “rid of the brain that is not useful.”
“Bikoy is a scam created by people who oppose the Duterte administration. This group is so disorganized they cannot even get to first base because the path to their objective is in disarray,” the mayor said.
In a press conference streamed live on People’s Television Network (PTV), Advincula said the allegations in the videos were scripted and that he surrendered to authorities to change his life.
“Sa pagkakataong ito gusto ko na ayusin ang buhay ko (This time, I want to fix my life),” he said.
Advincula added he has no intention of destroying the reputation of Trillanes with his retraction as none of the eight senatorial candidates of the Liberal Party had landed in the top 12 of the midterm elections.
“Bakit ko sila sisiraan? Unang una, talo sila lahat… Gumagawa na ng paraan ang kabilang camp para maka ganun sila kasi walang wala na sila (Why do I have to destroy them? First of all, they have already lost… they are doing anything they can to recover as they have nothing),” he said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
