scripting bikoy
as i said in overkilling bikoy, the 5-episode narcolist video was well done. the script went straight to the point, very confident of its facts (kuno?). it was impossible not to be piqued by curiousity, at the very least — totoo kaya ito? — because if true it would answer the biggest question re duterte’s drug war that hangs over many a truly thinking pinoy mind: WHY is this drug war helpless against suppliers of shabu, i.e., the drug lords and traders and smugglers? BAKIT mga small-time user and pusher lang ang binabanatan? at nagiging malinaw ang dahilan KUNG totoo ang mga paratang ni bikoy na kabilang sa drug lords ang mga kapamilya’t kaibigan ng pangulo.
of course we wanted / want proof, and not from a hooded anonymous source. yet, when, lo-and-behold, um-appear si bikoy sa IBP noong may 6 at humarap sa media, introduced himself, reiterated his accusations, and requested a senate investigation, alas no lawyer dared step up to serve as his legal counsel, and alas the senate prez and DDS propagandists were quick to discredit him, driving him into hiding. checkmate agad.
i wonder tuloy, what if bikoy had found a lawyer, and senator lacson had proceeded with the senate investigation that friday before monday 13 may? would such have lost the duterte candidates some votes? or would such have made it worse for otso diretso just because bikoy might have buckled pala under interrogation under oath, given that, as he now claims, it was all a lie, all scripted by senator trillanes et al, in a conspiracy to topple the president and replace him with the vp.
with bikoy’s recantation of may 23, we’re back to square one, back to not knowing anything for sure. the duterte camp has always denied involvement in the drug trade. trillanes and the liberal party et al have always denied a conspiracy to topple the president and, also now, any involvement in the making of the narcolist video.
but neither camp is known for transparency, and it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that both camps are lying to us, including, obviously, bikoy, who is fighting for his freedom if not his life, and whose new script seems closer to his heart, as in, walang kodigo, maybe because he was rigorously rehearsed? or maybe because madali namang sakyan ang storyline ng pangulo na wala nang gagrabe pa kay trillanes at sa mga dilawan na kating-kati siyang patalsikin. at tuwang-tuwa naman si PNP chief albayade, at least that’s what he looked like while listening to bikoy’s recantation.
even solgen calida has offered to help bikoy deal with the cases against him, and also to prepare possible complaints based on his new testimony. and first on the agenda, it would seem, of senators-elect bong go and bato post-june30 is a senate investigation to expose the ones behind the narcolist video
but wait. here’s the defense secretary. ‘wag daw maniwala agad.
“Let us not be hasty in giving credence to what he is saying. From what I heard and read, he has been lying at every turn,” Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters.
“His motive? Of course, to save himself!” Lorenzana said, adding that the retraction should be substantiated.
yes, please. in either case, we want evidence. winnie monsod reminds us of that april series of five in Once a liar, now he’s telling the truth?
The “Bikoy” videos came out—five of them—starting on April 2 and ending April 22. Each video focused on a different personality; the first was Paolo Duterte, the second was Honeylet Avanceña, the third was Bong Go, the fourth was Manases Carpio and the fifth was Elizalde Co, all allegedly involved in the drug trade. Three were members of the President’s family—his son, his “partner” and his son-in-law; one was a close-in aide, and the fifth was someone from Bicol.
when bikoy changed his story may 23, he named a dozen or so individuals allegedly behind the narcolist video. and because strangely enough no amount of googling surfaces any report quoting him naming these names, here’s my own transcript of a couple of pertinent parts of the presscon, word for word.
15:55 – 17:04
BIKOY. … May 6 ako lumabas. May 5 we had a meeting. We had a meeting with the. We had a meeting with the. With the Project Sudoma (Sedona?) team. Nandoon sila Sonny, yung chief security niya, sila Junel, yung Magdalo group, nandoon yung ibat ibang religious organizations, yung sa communications namin.Ang plano talaga magfa-file kami ng kaso sa ombudsman, kaya lang yung abogado namin from the plan headed by Atty Chel Diokno, sila Teddy Te, Teodoro Te, Atty Te, yung dati nasa Supreme Court, tapos a certain Atty Chito, kinuha yung serbisyo ni Atty Abiel Fajardo ng IBP. Si Atty Abiel Fajardo naman ang suggestion, instead na pumunta sa Ombudsman para magfile, pumunta muna sa kanila at pagkatapos ng filing, pagkatapos doon isusumite ko yung sinumpaang salaysay ko, then it’s up to them to determine kung mabibigyan ako ng free legal assistance through ng NCLA na pinamumunuan ni Atty Jun Ambrosio.
21:30 – 22 36
Q: Kung gawagawa lahat … sinong gumawa ng script … [nito at] pati yung mga episode one to five?BIKOY. Ah. Ang Project Sedoma. Ang Project Sedoma ay binubuo ng ilang katao. hindi lang si Senator Sonny Trillanes. Nandyan yung chief security niya […] Junel, ok? Sa mga conversation namin ang code ni Senator Trillanes sa grupo is Estella, ok? … Nandyan din yung staff ni Senator Leila de Lima, a certain Atty. Bill [Phil?]. Si Senator Hontiveros ilang beses pumunta din doon pero hindi naman madalas. Pero dalawa sigurong pumunta doon sa Ateneo de Manila para sa mga pagpupulong, mga dalawa tatlo. Tapos a certain Yoly Villanueva Ong, communications, Vicente Romano, Bong Enriquez, and a certain businessman Dan Songco. So sila yung nasa likod ng production ng Ang totoong narcolist.
interesting names there, di ba. some of them have denied the charge outright, some continue to maintain a dignified (?!) silence.
it can only be one of two things: (1) they had nothing to do with the narcolist video, or (2) they had everything to do with the video and they have evidence to prove their allegations.
either way, i hope they have solid scripts.