The Justice department has ordered Immigration to stop from leaving the country controversial Peter Joemel Advincula, who claims to be the “Bikoy” in the “Ang Totoong Narco List” videos that accused some members of the first family and presidential allies of links to the illegal drug trade in the country.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Sunday Immigration offices in all international airports had been alerted to frustrate any attempt of Advincula to leave the country.
Guevarra cited the warrants of arrest against Advincula issued by the regional trial courts in Baguio City and La Trinidad in Benguet over the illegal recruitment and estafa cases against Advincula as bases for the order.
The Justice department said it was also considering seeking a hold-departure order from the courts, but stressed the warrants would suffice to arrest Advincula at the airports.
“We will make sure Mr. Advincula doesn’t go anywhere,” Guevarra said.
Last week, Advincula surfaced and held a press conference at the Integrated Bar of the Philippines headquarters in Pasig City and reiterated his story that several personalities supposedly belonging to the “Quadrangle” and “Davao” groups were involved in the illegal drug trade.
He stood by his claim that the President’s children Paolo and Sara and her husband Manases Carpio, as well as his partner Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña and their daughter Kitty, of benefiting from the illegal drug trade.
Advincula said he served prison time from 2012 to 2016 after conviction in cases of illegal recruitment and large-scale estafa. Reports had it that he is also now wanted over other estafa cases filed against him in Bicol.
The Senate and the DOJ have invited him to an investigation so he could file charges and submit evidence for the possible filing of charges.
However, Advincula reportedly turned down the invitation despite claiming that he had documentary evidence to back up his claims.
But the credibility of Advincula was questioned after Senate President Vicente Sotto III revealed that a man with the same surname had previously surfaced and offered his office with the same story but with a different target.
Sotto recalled that he also received between 2014 to 2015 almost the same information shared by Advincula.
He said a certain Mr. Advincula also told a story about the “Quadrangle Group” from Bicol being behind the illegal drug trade, but claimed that they had links to former President Benigno Aquino III.
Sotto did not elaborate on the supposed drug links of those who were named but said the informant also provided documents, among them “bank accounts,” to support his claim.
He said his staff investigated the allegations but were not convinced with the information provided by the accuser.
Upon checking by the Philippine National Police, it turned out that Advincula was a wanted person for estafa and illegal recruitment.
In September 2007, Baguio RTC Judge Ruben Ayson issued an arrest warrant on Advincula for illegal recruitment.
The same month, La Trinidad, Benguet RTC Judge Delilah Gonzales-Muñoz also issued a warrant of arrest against him for estafa.
Last week, businessman Arven Valmores of Ardeur World Marketing also filed a new estafa complaint against Advincula before the DOJ.
He claims that Advincula sponsored a beauty pageant in Albay in August last year and used the corporate name and logo of Valmores’ business”•without his consent”•for promotion.