MANILA - He is a "scam."
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio had this to say about Peter Joemel Advincula, the man who introduced himself as the hooded "Bikoy" in viral videos linking her family to the narcotics trade.
"Bikoy is a scam created by people who oppose the Duterte administration," Duterte-Carpio said in a statement Thursday.
Advincula surrendered Thursday and took back his claims, tagging the opposition in his earlier surfacing to make accusations against the family of President Rodrigo Duterte at the height of the electoral campaign.
In a statement, Duterte-Carpio said Bikoy was created by a "disorganized" group that opposes the Duterte administration.
"This group is so disorganized they cannot even get to first base because the path to their objective is in disarray," Duterte-Carpio said.
Advincula on Thursday said his allegations were all lies and that his surfacing through a series of videos was supposedly orchestrated by the Liberal Party and administration critic Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
The LP has denied Advincula's allegations.
"Kung ako leader ng grupo na ito (If I were the leader of this group), I will shoot myself in the head, get rid of the brain that is not useful," Duterte-Carpio said.
In a series of videos titled "Ang Totoong Narco-list," Bikoy claimed drug money was funneled into the bank accounts of the mayor's brother Paolo, her husband Manases Carpio, and the President's former aide, now Senator-elect Christopher Go.
In a press conference Thursday, Advincula apologized to the mayor, her husband, his brother Waldo Reyes Carpio and their law firm partner.
He also sought forgiveness from the president's youngest daughter, Veronica "Kitty" Duterte.
He said he hopes that he would be given the opportunity to further explain and personally apologize to them.
But for Duterte-Carpio, he need not apologize to her as she was not in the viral videos.
"No need to ask forgiveness, I was not in all the videos. Wala cguro siya kahibaw unsa akoa tattoo sa likod (Hindi niya siguro alam kung ano ang tattoo ko sa likod),” she said.
Advincula had accused both Paolo Duterte and Go of having tattoos on their back that supposedly prove their involvement in drug syndicates. Go later bared his back publicly to prove the claim wrong.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson earlier said that Advincula was suffering from a serious credibility problem and needs more than just a narration to prove his claims.
Bikoy, Peter Joemel Advincula, Totoong Narco-list, Bikoy, Sara Duterte, Duterte-Carpio, Paolo Duterte, Manases Carpio, Bong Go, Christopher Go, Liberal Party