On April 2, 2019, Peter Joemel Advincula, a former criminal, started creating a series of videos titled"Ang Totoong Narcolist" (transl. The True Narcolist). It discussed the alleged involvement of theDuterte family—the first family of the Philippines—in drug syndicates and accused politiciansBong Go andPaolo Duterte, both closely related to the Duterte family. The videos gained nationwide attention as politicians denied the accusations.
Advincula was introduced to a drugsyndicate, which led to him being charged withfraud in 2012. Advincula was imprisoned for six years and was released early in 2017 forgood behavior. After, Advincula wanted to become awhistleblower. He created a channel named "Ang Totoong Narcolist" in YouTube on April 2, 2019, featuring a hooded person named "Bikoy". Five videos were produced, between April 2 and Advincula's surrender on May 6. The videos led to a manhunt for the perpetrator led by theNational Bureau of Investigation. Originally, Rodel Jayme, the owner of a website that distributed the videos, was arrested on April 30. Before Jayme was convicted, Advincula surrendered to the police. He paid his bail and leftCamp Crame but returned to the police for protection. Numerous politicians were charged with sedition, including Vice PresidentLeni Robredo and Trillanes.
Peter Joemel Advincula was born in 1989, inDonsol, Sorsogon, Philippines. He was introduced to a drug syndicate operating inMisibis Bay on May 6, 2010, and was selected to headclosed-circuit television operations in underground facilities throughout the area. After, he was tasked to prepare the monthly "TARA", a document listing the collections and payoffs that month.[1] During this time, Advincula allegedly witnessed the killing of one of his syndicate members, as well as the raping of their wife and daughter.[2]
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Advincula fled the syndicate fearing that he would be murdered.[1]National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents found Advincula. He was arrested and convicted of fraud in 2012, and sentenced to six years in prison. During the first three years, he was detained at theNaga City District Jail. He was transferred to theNew Bilibid Prison due to good behavior. In prison, he returned to his religious activities, serving as a "teacher" for the local detainees.[1] Allegedly, during his detainment, he contacted the office of SenatorTito Sotto. He attempted to expose the businessmen who connected him to the drug syndicate to leave the prison. Sotto did not reply, finding his claims "suspicious."[3] He was released in 2017, one year early due to good character.[1]
Rodrigo Duterte won the2016 Philippine presidential election and assumed presidency on June 30.[4] His presidency was controversial and marked by an intensive crackdown onillegal drugs. In hisfirst 100 days, thePhilippine National Police (PNP) killed approximately 3,600 people under Duterte's command. This drew condemnation from theUnited Nations, theEuropean Union, and other international organizations.[5] Large protests have been held against the administration of Duterte.[6] In September 2018, an alleged ouster plot, titledRed October, was purportedly found, reportedly created by members of the opposition.[7] In March 2019, Duterte exposed 46 "narcolists," or politicians with connections to drug syndicates.[8] Along with this, various disinformation campaigns were created leading up to the2019 Philippine general election.[9]Surigao del Norte RepresentativeAce Barbers portrayed these scandals as a possible motive for the creation of the videos.[10]
In August 2018, Advincula planned to go into hiding and become a whistleblower, wanting to expose the Misibis Bay syndicate's operations.[1] He created a YouTube channel named "Ang Totoong Narcolist" (transl. The True Narcolist) on April 2, 2019. The videos are based around a hooded whistleblower named "Bikoy", who claimed to be a former member of drug syndicates inSouthern Luzon and theVisayas archipelago. According toVera Files, the videos seemed professionally done and had nice annotation.[11] Five videos were created, between April 2 and Advincula's surrender on May 6. The videos were widely circulated throughout social media.[12]
The first episode was released on April 2.[11][13] It displayed papers that "Bikoy" claimed to be TARA documents related to the syndicate. According to "Bikoy", typical TARA documents contain a date, a code name and bank account of a high-ranking official. The bottom of the documents had a signature which ensured that the details in the documents were accurate. "Bikoy" then presented two code names, saying that the code names were not bright due to their similarity to criminals' real names. He claimed the first code name was associated with Waldo Carpio, the brother ofSara Duterte's husband,Mans Carpio.[11][14] He then said that the other code name belonged toPaolo Duterte, alleging that the latter had a tattoo on his back showing the code name.[15]
The second episode was released five days later[13][11] throughBombo Radyo Iloilo. It divulged a new code name that, according to "Bikoy", was difficult to trace. He associated the names to three bank accounts, including one belonging to Elijah Manuel Pepito and another to Veronica Salvador. Pepito was the partner lawyer for Mans Carpio's law firm. "Veronica Salvador" was a merged name of Duterte's wife,Honeylet "Salvador" Avanceña, and their daughter Kitty, shown as "Veronica".[16]
The third episode was released on April 8, the following day,[13] onYouTube.[17] It discussed the alleged involvement of SenatorBong Go in the drug trade. "Bikoy" claimed that drug money was being funneled to Go's account and insisted that Go had a dragon tattoo on his back with his code name.[18] The fourth episode was released on April 12, four days later.[13] In the video, "Bikoy" further argued that Go had a dragon tattoo and stated that he was confident of his allegation; he showed a picture of Go playing basketball with a portion of the dragon tattoo visible. He reiterated that Carpio was involved in drug operations.[19] The fifth and final video was released on April 22. In it, "Bikoy" revealed alleged organizations related to the Misibis Bay syndicate and identified personalities he claimed were involved. He also exhibited the "Quadrangle Group", an alleged group of rich businessmen purportedly involved in drug operations.[13]
Numerous Duterte-aligned politicians opposed the videos. During the episodes' release,Presidential SpokespersonSalvador Panelo said that the allegations mentioned were "black propaganda".[20] He also accused theLiberal Party of the Philippines of creating the videos.[20] After the first video, President Duterte blamed the political opposition and hinted that SenatorAntonio Trillanes was likely behind it, calling himgay.[21] Due to Advincula's allegations that Bong Go has a dragon tattoo, Go has shown his back on two occasions: at aHugpong ng Pagbabago campaign event[18] and later at aLuntiang Pilipinas campaign event inCalamba, Laguna.[22] Trillanes praised the videos, wishing to have been part of the creation. He then challengedPaolo Duterte to display the tattoo on his back, which Duterte refused to do.[15] The Liberal Party denied their involvement[23] whileCommunist Party of the Philippines founderJose Maria Sison said "Bikoy" should be given protection to tell his story.[24] TheDepartment of Justice of the Philippines (DOJ) questioned "Bikoy"'s credibility due to his anonymity.[25] The videos were considered a controversial topic online: viewers shared documents from the video, with aFacebook page titled "for the motherland Sass Rogando Sasot" encountering connections between the documents shown to a bank inLegazpi, Albay.[26] According to thePhilippine News Agency, the videos were "publicly viewed, shared and uploaded" multiple times.[12]
Shortly after the release of the videos, specifically on April 16, Duterte reported in a speech that he had received intelligence reports detailing an alleged ouster plot. Six days later, Panelo released the "Oust Duterte matrix". The matrix named journalists from several news outlets, particularly thePhilippine Center for Investigative Journalism andRappler. Panelo said those journalists could be feeding their stories to "enemies of the state," or the opposition. He stated that the matrix was released to expose those behind the alleged ouster plot and did not file charges against the journalists shown in the matrix.[27]
The DOJ began investigating the videos on April 17.[28] The cybercrime division of theNational Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said that the website "metrobalita.net", a page that shared the videos, was owned by blogger Rodel Jayme. He was arrested in his residence inParañaque April 30 and detained in NBI headquarters.[29] Jayme was then charged withsedition on May 2, with DOJ SecretaryMenardo Guevarra saying he could also be charged with child abuse for mentioning Duterte's daughter in one of the videos.[28] Jayme accused opposition groups of forcing him to create the websites. An NBI spokesperson said that Jayme could be a state witness for the accusations.[30]
Before Jayme was to be charged, Peter Advincula, the original "Bikoy", surfaced. He requested help from theIntegrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in suing the Dutertes and their allies,[31] saying his allegations were true. Two days later, the IBP rejected his offer. He then asked SenatorPanfilo Lacson to postpone his hearing until the elections.[32] That same day, Guevarra gave Advincula an ultimatum: bring evidence to back up his claims in the videos, or face sedition charges.[33] Advincula surrendered to police May 22, stating on national television that he played a role in a script made by the Liberal Party.[34][35][36] The media called this reversal "flip-flopping".[3] He accused Trillanes of taking part in the video's production.[37] The DOJ said that his allegations would need a deep investigation.[38]Solicitor GeneralJose Calida offered legal aid to Advincula.[39] Advincula had hismugshot on May 23.[40]Elizaldy Co, one of the people mentioned in the videos, filed a 1 billion PHP lawsuit for damage from the accusations relating to him.[41]
The next day, Advincula, charged with for six counts ofestafa, paid 6,000PHP in bail.[42] The next day, he left Camp Crame, where he was detained.[43] ThePhilippine National Police (PNP) started an investigation against Advincula,[44] who had skipped a case hearing on the investigation the following day.[45] He turned himself in to the police for protection on June 3, claiming that his life was in danger.[46] The next day, the DOJ concluded their investigation, charging him with fraud.[47] Advincula was released from protective custody on June 25.[48]Ako Bicol RepresentativeAlfredo Garbin filed a resolution on May 29 for thePhilippine House Committee on Information and Communications Technology to investigate the potential effects of misinformation on social media platforms due to the videos.[12] The resolution resulted in investigations against Facebook and Google and a request for both to attend a hearing.[49]
Numerous politicians were sued for sedition on July 18, including Vice PresidentLeni Robredo.[50] Investigations began into his and other politicians' connection to the "Bikoy" videos.[51] Advincula surrendered again to the PNP July 29.[52][53] He posted 10,000 PHP bail two days later[54] and then applied for state protection on August 5 with his lawyerLarry Gadon.[55] Two Catholic bishops were charged with sedition later that month due to an alleged conversation with Advincula.[56] On August 20, Calida linked the videos to servers in theAteneo de Manila University.[57] Robredo responded to the investigations with a counter-affidavit, denying the accusations on August 29.[58] In September, a former lawyer of Trillanes stated that the senator had ties to "Bikoy"; the senator denied the accusation.[59] On February 10, 2020, Robredo was cleared of the charges against her, whileAntonio Trillanes and actorJoel Saracho, among others, were charged with sedition.[60]
On January 20, 2021, Advincula was charged withperjury by a Manila court for allegedly false statements against theFree Legal Assistance Group.[61][62] A warrant was issued for his arrest.[63] He surrendered at a local police station inDaraga, posting 18,000 PHP bail.[64] He was absent from the court on July 21, causing the court to reissue his arrest warrant due to Advincula being unable to justify his absence.[65] Advincula allegedly killed three politicians inAlbay on November 13, with their bodies appearing in hisukay-ukay store in Daraga. He was declared the primary suspect.[66][67] According to local police, his possible motive was a grudge between him and one of the victims after they rejected Advincula's request for a loan.[68] He posted the 1 million PHP bail on December 16.[69] Two years later, he was convicted of perjury in statements he made in 2019 implicating lawyersErin Tañada,Chel Diokno, andTheodore Te in an ouster plot.[70][71] He was sentenced to a maximum of one year and one day in prison.[72] but eventually posted bail soon after the verdict.[73] In 2020, a journal released by theAteneo de Manila University detailed the videos and the effects.[74] On October 8, 2024, Advincula filed his candidacy for senator in the2025 election, pushing for a centralized correctional system in the Philippines[75][76] but he was declared anuisance candidate by theCommission on Elections.[77]
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