Two pages on Facebook mistook the administrator arrested for the “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos as “Bikoy,” the shady figure believed to have produced them.
The administrator, a certain Rodel Jayme, was arrested on May 2 for allegedly uploading the videos on a website named metrobalita.com and then sharing the links on the YouTube channel.
A Facebook page called Albertisementblog posted a screenshot of an article from a news outlet about Vice President Leni Robredo’s statement about the identity of Bikoy.
“Ang naaresto ay hindi si Bikoy kundi ‘yung nag-upload nung videos. Ako, marami kasing tanong: una, mayroon ba talagang Bikoy? Ang gusto kong sabihin, si Bikoy ba tunay na tao?”
On this, the blogger said in the caption:
“Endgame? When Leni’s kabobohan becomes her own enemy, siya na ang nagsabi na si Rodel Jayme ay ‘yung nag upload nung videos’. So totoo nga? NBI wala na kayong problema, si Leni na ang nagsabi.”
ENDGAME? When Leni’s kabobohan becomes her own enemy. Sya na ang nagsabi na si Rodel Jayme ay ‘yung nag upload nung…
Posted by ALBERTisement on Thursday, May 2, 2019
It was shared by another Facebook page named MindaVote.
Kumusta Verafiles at Rappler? Nagbreakfast na ba kayo? 😂😂😂
Posted by MindaVote on Thursday, May 2, 2019
Both pages share questionable content apparently favoring President Rodrigo Duterte and his allies.
Local authorities have yet to confirm if Jayme was the hooded figure in the videos accusing Duterte and his relatives to be involved in the illegal drug trade.
Misleading
The posts misunderstands Robredo’s position on the arrest, when she was just expressing her thoughts on the identity of the video producer.
She also said the government should punish those who spread false information online should they be proven guilty of it.
“I hope all of those who upload fake news are arrested. For example, I am also a victim of fake news since 2016, but it appears that some of those who make fake news (against me) are even paid by the government,” Robredo said.
The episodes alleged former Davao vice mayor Paolo Duterte, his sister Sara Duterte and her husband Manases Carpio to be one of the big-time drug operators in the country.
The names of a senatorial candidate and Duterte’s teenage daughter to partner Honeylet Avanceña were also tagged in the accusations.
What we know so far
The National Bureau of Investigation filed charges of inciting to sedition against Jayme for creating metrobalita.net, the website where the videos were originally uploaded.
The Cybercrime Division of NBI arrested him on April 30.
As of press time, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to determine if Jayme is Bikoy.
“Jayme and Bikoy may not necessarily be the same person. We don’t know the exact identity of Bikoy,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said.
Following his arrest, a photo of him and Robredo made rounds online, tagging her to the release of the controversial recordings.
Robredo’s camp immediately responded that that posts are false.
“Ayon sa kuwentong ipinipilit ibenta kasabay ng photo, si VP Leni daw ang nasa likod ng pagkilos nitong si Jayme. Para sa kalinawan ng lahat: walang ‘Rodel Jayme’ na nagtatrabaho para sa [Office of the Vice President] o kay VP Leni,” said lawyer Barry Gutierrez, Robredo’s spokesperson.
Jayme later claimed that a Liberal Party supporter assigned him to create the website. However, it was not disclosed that the website will be used for the controversial recordings.
The YouTube channel had since been deleted.
