‘BIKOY’ GUILTY OF PERJURY

THE Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 17 has found Peter Joemel “Bikoy” Advincula guilty of perjury over his 2019 allegation that three human rights lawyers were part of “Project Sodoma,” a plot to oust then president Rodrigo Duterte.

In a court order dated May 22, 2023, Advincula was sentenced to imprisonment of at least three months and one day to up to a year and a day.

The perjury case against Advincula was filed by Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) lawyers Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada 3rd and Theodore Te on Jan. 11, 2021.

Advincula surrendered to authorities a week later, after a warrant of arrest was issued against him.

Presiding judge Karla FuntilaAbugan’s ruling wrote that there was no sufficient basis to warrant the award of “nominal damages.”

“The prosecution’s evidence primarily sought to establish the elements of the crime of perjury and not the legal rights of the private complainants that were violated as a result of the criminal act of the accused,” the court order read.

In April 2019, a series of videos titled “Ang Totoong Narcolist” circulated, alleging that Duterte and his family were involved in illegal drug trade.

Advincula surfaced a month later and accused the opposition of masterminding the scheme.