A retired bishop in the Philippines has welcomed a perjury case filed against a man who accused him and several other church personalities of plotting to overthrow the country’s government.
“I am glad that somebody filed a perjury case against [Peter Joemel ‘Bikoy’ Advincula],” said retired Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr. in an interview over Radio Veritas 846 on Jan. 22.
“I would like to know who is behind Bikoy, who paid him, who instigated him to lie,” added Bishop Bacani.
A Manila court on Jan. 20 issued an arrest warrant against Advincula over a perjury charge.
Advincula claimed in a sworn statement that church and political opposition leaders were part of plot against President Rodrigo Duterte.
State prosecutors found probable cause to charge Advincula with perjury for his claim that lawyers Chel Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada III, and Theodore Te met to plan the ouster of Duterte.
Diokno, Tañada, and Te were among the respondents in a sedition case filed by the Philippine National Police against opposition figures in July 2019.
The complaint was dismissed but charges for conspiracy to commit sedition were filed against former Sen. Antonio Trillanes and several others, including church leaders.
Bishop Bacani said Advincula should answer for his lies because he was under oath when he accused Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and Fathers Flaviano Villanueva, Albert Alejo, and Robert Reyes of being part of the plot.
