Philippines – Social media personality Franco Mabanta was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation after being accused of trying to extort millions of pesos from Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez in exchange for not releasing damaging online content.
According to report, citing a statement from the NBI, Mabanta was arrested along with four other individuals in an entrapment operation tied to an alleged robbery-extortion scheme. Authorities said the case involved a demand for P350 million in exchange for withholding content that supposedly linked Romualdez to alleged flood control anomalies.
NBI Identifies Mabanta as Main Suspect
The NBI identified Mabanta, founder and chairman of Peanut Gallery Media Network, as the main suspect in the case. Also arrested were Ericson James Pacaba, John Alexander Vasquez Gomez, Jardine Christian Requio Serrano, and Franco Jose Gallardo.
Investigators said the case began after Romualdez filed a complaint accusing Mabanta of directing a plan to pressure him for money. The NBI said the alleged demand was initially set at P300 million, to be paid in four tranches of P75 million each, although the agency also said Mabanta allegedly tried to extort P350 million from the lawmaker.
Authorities claimed part of the supposed video material was sent ahead of time to make the threat appear real and to support the demand.
How the Entrapment Operation Unfolded
The NBI said an entrapment operation was arranged after plans were made for the release of the first P75-million payment. At around 5:30 p.m., Mabanta allegedly met with undercover agents posing as representatives of the complainant at a hotel in Makati.
During that meeting, authorities said Mabanta repeated the demand and told the supposed representatives to bring the money to a country club in Pasig and hand it to a person identified as “Jimmy.”
The NBI said Serrano and Gallardo later received the cash and brought it to a function room where Mabanta, Pacaba, and Gomez were waiting. Arresting agents then moved in and took the group into custody.
Mabanta, Media Network Deny Allegations
After the arrest, Mabanta told that the case was “not extortion.” In a separate statement, Peanut Gallery Media Network also denied the accusations and described the operation as a setup.
The group said it had spent months researching alleged corruption involving Romualdez and had already completed a 90-minute exposé that was being prepared for release. It insisted there were no threats and no crime committed.
The suspects are now under the custody of the NBI’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division for inquest proceedings. The bureau said marked money and mobile phones allegedly used in coordinating the transaction were recovered during the operation.