LETTERS FROM DAVAO

By Jun Ledesma

The fake stories of Janet Cooke and Peter Advincula

“BIKOY” now has now a face -- Peter Advincula, a recidivist and going by the disclosures on Facebook by so many people he had victimized. He is not just an ordinary person. He fits the description of a con artist. He too has a star complex. He claimed that he had turned into a new leaf but went into hiding when, according to his fairy tale, he was spotted by Bong Go in a crowd. Who he? He does not only bilk money from impressionable victims who believe his stories, it appears now that he is willing to play a role for as long as the talent fee is good.

I do not think that Advincula alias “Bikoy” is a literary talent to be able to write a 3-episode fable. But he will not decline posing as a whistle-blower if the price is right. The script writer of the whodunit story on the other hand simply pieced together a hodgepodge of pre-verifications. He or she can be in the category of an American Pulizer Prize awardee Janet Cooke who fabricated a story about 9-year old boy named “Jimmy” who was lured into drugs by a syndicate and became an addict. Cooke who wrote the story for Washington Post won the prestigious award which, including a $1-million cash prize, were returned later.

Those who think that those journalists named in the matrix are not capable of conjuring fake news, think again. If American journalists like Cooke can fabricate stories including her credentials it is not a mystery for some of our own getting an international recognition for coming up with fraudulent stories.

The drug syndicate story of “Bikoy” as written by his scriptwriter had so many loopholes. In Cooke’s “Jimmy’s World”, the story was replete with imponderables not common in the underworld prompting police intelligence to step in and verify the veracity of her tale and proved later that her literary masterpiece was, in today’s lingo, a FAKE. In Bikoy’s trilogy, the writer with diabolical scheme to discredit if not altogether wreck the credibility of Pres. Rodrigo Duterte as an effective and persuasive campaigner and endorser of his senatorial bets collectively named the members of the Duterte family. His or her biggest error was to include the President’s innocent daughter Kitty in the drug syndicate. It proves the writer’s depravity for he does not care about the falsity of his story. Kitty is merely a growing up kid.

The writer was like a raging bull in the china shop. Aside from the first family, he also named former Special Assistant Sec. Bong Go who is in the lead pack in the Senate race. Bong’s performance in the senatorial derby is perceived as a barometer of Duterte’s popularity and the opposition has revved its wrecking crew to shot down Bong. But it looks like what they do are futile exercise. In all surveys, at least 10 administration senatorial candidates are in the winning slate.

President Duterte is right in not giving a hoot to his rabid critics and malefactors. His satisfaction ratings at 81% is Excellent , the credit rating of the country is BBB+ which Investment grade. Both ratings are unprecedented! Inflation is down. Nobody can argue with success. Aside from discovering that he is a con man this could be the reason why the Integrated Bar of the Philippines dropped Peter Advincula like a hot potato.

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About the Columnist

Image of Jun Ledesma

Mr. Jun Ledesma is a community journalist who writes from Davao City and comments from the perspective of a Mindanaoan.