Pro-Duterte social media personality Franco Mabanta, founder of news blog Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), has been arrested for an alleged extortion attempt.
National Bureau of Investigation Director Melvin Matibag confirmed the news on Wednesday, May 6. According to ABS-CBN News, Mabanta and four others are accused of trying to extort P350 million from Leyte First District Representative Martin Romualdez.
Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon recently accused PGMN of allegedly spreading “disinformation” regarding an alleged electricity bill surge. Manila Bulletin reports that a viral post by PGMN showed a 900 percent increase in an electricity bill, but Ridon questioned the veracity of the post and said that the media channel was spreading disinformation to “exploit the frustration of ordinary Filipino households” amid the fuel and energy crisis.
Mabanta served as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s social media strategist before his presidency began in 2022. In 2020, independent fact-checking body Vera Files flagged Mabanta’s Facebook post regarding COVID-19 as false and lacking context. He went on to launch PGMN in 2024.
Its Facebook page currently has over 665,000 followers, and is bolstered by a lineup of anchors that includes former politician Greco Belgica, who chaired the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission under former President Rodrigo Duterte, political commentator Orion Perez Dumdum, and transport journalist James Deakin.
“Conservative, Liberal, DDS [Die-hard Duterte Supporter], Loyalist or Pink, we gather the best and most viral voices — encouraging them to say whatever they want, however they want, with a promise to never censor,” PGMN’s social media bio says.
This is a developing story.
