The Justice department on Tuesday ended its preliminary investigation of the new estafa complaint filed against Peter Joemel Advincula, the self-confessed “Bikoy” in the “Ang Totoong Narco-List” videos filed by an Albay-based businessman.
Investigating Assistant State Prosecutor Herbert Calvin Abugan submitted the case for resolution without Advincula’s answer after the latter failed to appear or at least send a lawyer or representative in two hearings despite the summonses sent to his home address.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday reiterated his agency will look into claims made by Advincula accusing the opposition to be behind the viral videos “Ang Totoong Narcolist”.
This came after he returned to the Philippine National Police for protective custody and submitted himself for investigation.
Advincula is being accused of estafa over a beauty pageant that he organized last year.
In the hearings held on May 28 and yesterday, only complainant Arven Valmores of Ardeur World Marketing and his lawyers showed up.
Valmores submitted to the investigating prosecutor the affidavit of witness Danrick Capuz, director of the beauty pageant who confirmed that Advincula organized the event but disappeared along with the funds collected for the event without paying them.
In his complaint filed on May 10, Valmores said Advincula did not attend the pageant held on Aug. 11, 2018, after using the corporate name and logo of Valmores’ business”•without his consent”•for promotion.
He said the respondent “became unreachable, thereby leaving all the members of the production staff unpaid.”
The complainant said he had to shell out P304,422 to cover the expenses of the pageant as the production staff and pageant winners sought redress.
Advincula surfaced on May 6 to claim that he was the Bikoy in the videos that accused several members of the presidential family of links to the illegal drug trade in the country.
However, on May 23, he surrendered to the PNP and recanted his claims, saying he was paid by the camp of opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV to make the false accusations as part of the alleged plot to oust President Duterte. With PNA