Franco Mabanta became the talk of the town following reports that he was arrested for for an alleged extortion attempt on former House Speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez (Leyte, 1st District).
The internet personality, along with four others, was arrested in an entrapment operation conducted by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly extorting millions of pesos from the lawmaker.
Mabanta claimed he had videos linking Romualdez to the flood control scandal that erupted last year, which allegedly implicated the lawmaker and led to his resignation as the fourth-highest government official in the land.
The NBI said Mabanta threatened to release the videos on his platform if the demands for money were not met by May 5.
In exchange, P350 million was allegedly requested, with P300 million to be released in four tranches of P75 million each.
“It’s not extortion,” Mabanta told ABS-CBN News after the entrapment.
Who is Mabanta?
Mabanta is the founder of the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), which publishes political commentaries on social media, particularly YouTube. It describes itself as “the only Philippine media channel in pursuit of free speech absolutism.”
His name later trended on social media following his arrest.
Some online users recalled his pre-presidency affiliation with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., citing a photo.
The image included other internet personalities known for their political content, such as RJ Nieto of “Thinking Pinoy,” Sass Rogano Sasot of “For the Motherland” and former Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson, who runs the “Mocha Uson Blog.”
“Everyone’s there. Why the falling out now and how far will the ensuing fallout ripple out?” the online user who shared the photo wrote.
Lawyer and political commentator Jesus Falcis likewise noted Mabanta’s previous affiliations.
“Oh no! How sad. DDS bloggers from Trixie Cruz’s page to Krizette Chu are disowning Franco Mabanta… by saying he was PBBM’s social media guy back in 2018 and NOT a PR guy for Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Ganyan ang mga DDS, nang iiwan!” he wrote.
DDS refers to “Diehard Duterte Supporters.”
Another X user went further back, recalling Mabanta’s early days as a VJ.
“So Franco Mabanta extorted Martin Romualdez by blackmailing the former Speaker that he [had] videos linking him to the flood control scam. C’mon Franco, ‘selling videos’ is not a good career transition from your video introducing stint as a Myx VJ before,” the X user said.
Mabanta also became the subject of a Reddit discussion, with a Redditor claiming that filmmaker Quark Henares had posted about him in 2017, with some users suggesting that Mabanta was being referred to.
“Who is Franco Mabanta? Here’s a summary from Quark Henares’ Post from 2017,” the Reddit user said.
Who is Franco Mabanta? Here’s a summary from Quark Henares’ Post from 2017
by
u/vitaelity in
ChikaPH
The discussion drew comments from some Redditors who had heard Mabanta’s name before his political affiliations.
“As an older millennial, it’s so surreal to witness what he’s become. I still remember him as this kengkoy dude na nasa ads ng Globe Telecom. Si Jasper sa Coca-Cola ad. Na naging veejay for a while. Di mo akalain na magiging ganyan kagahaman at kademonyo. Life can be so weird sometimes,” a Reddit user wrote.
“Laman siya ng magazines dati tapos I think naging MYX VJ ba siya, kasabayan ni Ala Paredes? Gusto ko pa naman siya dati kasi parang smart and bibo. Oh well, nagagawa ng greed,” another commented.
In 2017, Mabanta drew criticism from some Filipinos after a clothing brand chose him as an endorser, with online users recalling his past remarks about blogger Jover Laurio.
At that time, he was described as a social media personality known for expressing support for then-President Rodrigo Duterte.
The following year, Mabanta again drew attention for comments related to fat-shaming.
In 2019, he again made headlines for claiming that environmental activist Greta Thunberg had “multiple mental illnesses.” She has Asperger’s syndrome.
Mabanta previously described himself as a “social media strategist” for Marcos before the latter became president.
He also referred to himself as the “chief social media director for the Marcoses” in a 2019 post, when Marcos had campaigned for vice president but lost to Leni Robredo.
Mabanta continued posting political content on his Facebook page until then, including a 2022 post praising Vice President Sara Duterte.
Two years later, the PGMN was born.
Mabanta first became known as a MYX VJ in 2002, alongside Heart Evangelista, Bernard Palanca, Michi Valeriano and Ala Paredes.
He also worked as a commercial model, theater actor and TV host.
In 2004, he became a segment host on ABS-CBN’s “Showbiz No.1,” alongside Ogie Diaz, Neri Naig and JC Cuadrado.
By 2016, he began expressing support for Rodrigo, and in 2018, he began working with Marcos.
PGMN statement
Meanwhile, in a statement posted by PGMN, Mabanta addressed the alleged extortion and said he is “innocent,” calling the entrapment operation a “setup.”
“Over the last five months, PGMN completed immense, comprehensive, painful research on the breathtaking national corruption of Martin Romualdez while he was Speaker of the House. What we have is devastating,” Mabanta said in a statement on Wednesday, May 6.
“The episode was filmed several weeks ago. It has been fully edited — it is 90 minutes-long, packed with hard evidence, and ready for release. That is why this is happening,” he added.
“There was no extortion. There were ZERO threats from us. That’s all bulls*it. The ‘evidence’ provided showed one side of the story. We committed NO CRIME: AND WE CAN PROVE IT,” he continued.
Mabanta blamed the arrest on Romualdez, claiming the lawmaker did it to “silence” them.
— with reports from Philstar.com/Ian Laqui
