The Tamesis
May 7, 2026
Manila – The founder of a social media news outlet was arrested late Tuesday along with four colleagues for allegedly trying to extort 350 million pesos from former Speaker Martin Romualz.
Franco Mabanta, a self-styled political strategist who founded the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), allegedly threatened a Leyte congressman and cousin of President Marcos by releasing a video that allegedly linked him to corruption in the House of Representatives.
The National Bureau of Investigation introduced Mabanta to the media on Wednesday after conducting a sting operation at the Verde Valley Country Club in Pasig City.
NBI chief Melvin Matibag said agents from the bureau’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division (OTCD) arrested Mabanta and four others for robbery and extortion as defined in the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
READ: PGMN anchor Regal Oliva reacts after NBI arrests Franco Mabanta
The other four arrested suspects were identified as PGMN financial officer Ericson James Pacaba, company founder John Alexander Vasquez Gomez and employees Jardine Christian Requio Serrano and Franco Jose Gallardo.
As of press time, they remain in the custody of NBI-OTCD.
The NBI said the sting operation was initiated based on a complaint filed by Romualdez. Lawmakers did not immediately comment on the arrests.
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According to the NBI, Mabanta first threatened Romualz last year to release the video.
The threat resurfaced two weeks ago when Mabanta sent a “trailer” to Romualz through an intermediary and demanded 350 million pesos in exchange for secrecy.
According to NBI-OTCD executive officer Special Agent John Mark Santiago, Mabanta first demanded 350 million pesos from Romualz but later settled for 300 million pesos.
Santiago said that as directed by Mabanta, the 300 million pesos will be delivered in four tranches of 75 million pesos each.
“Last year the amount was lower, but two weeks ago it surged to 350 million pesos,” Santiago said. “There are still discussions and the final demand is – ‘take it or leave it’ – 300 million pesos.”
Mabanta allegedly warned Romualdez that if the first part was not delivered by May 5, the first part of the video would be released by that date.
trap money
Santiago said Mabanta sent Romualz a video trailer to further pressure him. This prompted members of Congress to file a formal complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation.
During Tuesday’s sting operation, NBI agents posed as representatives of Romualz and carried three bags containing marked money and counterfeit cash.
The undercover agent met with Mabanta at the Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City around 5:30 p.m.
Mabanta then directed agents to deliver the money to a certain “Jimmy” at the Valle Verde Country Club, later identified as Serrano.
Serrano and Gallardo were the first to receive the bags. They then took them to a function room inside the club where Mabanta, Pacaba and Gomez were waiting.
As evidence, NBI agents seized cellphones used to coordinate the shipment.
‘set up’
The NBI chief said the bureau had not seen the video or examined whether it was related to the flood control corruption scandal, in which Romualz is being investigated along with other officials.
Mabanta denied the allegations when he spoke to reporters after his presentation to the NBI.
“We are innocent. That’s not true … absolutely not true,” he said.
Late on Wednesday, PGMN released a statement from Mabanta, in which he called his arrest “a conspiracy” and a way to “silence” the news site.
He said in a statement that the PGMN had “completed extensive, comprehensive and painful research” over the past five months into alleged corruption during Romualdez’s tenure as speaker.
“What we got was devastating. This episode was filmed a few weeks ago. It has been fully edited – 90 minutes long, full of hard evidence and ready for release,” he said.
“That’s why this happened. There was no blackmail. There was zero threat from us. This is all nonsense. The ‘evidence’ provided only shows one side of the story. We committed no crime: we can prove it,” he added.
“You know what you have done to this country. We know what you have done to this country. Soon, hopefully everyone will know,” he told Romualz. /cb
