MANILA, Philippines –  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has decided to submit for resolution the estafa case against Peter Joemel Advincula alias Bikoy without a single pleading from the latter, after he failed to appear in the preliminary investigation into the case.

“The case has been submitted for resolution in lieu of the absence of Peter Advincula,”  the complainant’s lawyer, resigned Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Benjamin delos Santos, said on Tuesday, June 4.

Delos Santos added that Advincula’s lawyer also did not appear in the last two hearings.

“Since Day 1 (they didn’t show), but I understand he’s under protective custody now,” Delos Santos said, adding that Advincula did not submit any counter affidavit.

Advincula is facing a P304,422-estafa complaint for allegedly duping partners, sponsors, and participants in an August 2018 pageant in Albay. The partners and staff were not paid salaries, and the winners not given their prizes.

Advincula first surfaced on May 6, and identified himself as Bikoy, the hooded man behind the viral Ang Totoong Narcolist  videos who accused frmer presidential aide now senator-elect Bong Go, presidential son Paolo Duterte, presidential son-in-law Manases Carpio, and presidential partner Honeylet Avanceña of receiving millions from a Bicol-based drug syndicate.  (READ: Alias ‘Bikoy’: From seminarian to ex-con to whistle-blower)

He went into hiding days later, and resurfaced on May 23, to surrender to the Philippine National Police (PNP). He sought the PNP’s protective custody and claimed an entirely different story, that Senator Antonio Trillanes IV had manipulated his “script” against the Duterte family to boost the senatorial chances of Otso Diretso, allegations that Trillanes and the opposition had categorically denied. (TIMELINE: The Bikoy controversy)

When Bikoy first surfaced, the PNP dismissed him as nothing but an information peddler, but when he resurfaced with a different story, the PNP started its investigation into Advincula’s claims against Trillanes and the Liberal Party. – Rappler.com