MANILA – A Manila court has found Peter Joemel Advincula or “Bikoy” guilty of perjury in connection with his accusation that three human rights lawyers were part of a plot to oust then President Rodrigo Duterte.
Advincula is meted with a penalty of up to one-year imprisonment.
The perjury case stems from the complaint filed by lawyers from the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada III, and Theodore Te.
In 2019, Advincula had accused the three of allegedly being part of “Project Sodoma,” a supposed plot by the opposition to oust Duterte from power.
He had identified other opposition members as part of the plot, including then Vice President Leni Robredo and the so-called ‘Otso Diretso’ senatorial candidates.
Advincula’s statements led to the filing a sedition complaint by the PNP-CIDG against more than two dozen opposition personalities, including Robredo and former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, religious leaders, and human rights lawyer.
The Department of Justice eventually dismissed most of the allegations against Robredo and the other personalities, but it filed charges for conspiracy to commit sedition against Trillanes and nine others. (Tetch Torres-Tupas © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
