Franco Mabanta Arrested by NBI on Extortion Charges

The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Franco Mabanta and four associates on May 5, 2026, during an entrapment operation for alleged extortion under Republic Act No. 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Mabanta, founder and chairperson of Peanut Gallery Media Network, was taken into custody along with Ericson James D.

Pacaba, John Alexander Vasquez Gomez, Jardine Christian Requio Serrano, and Franco Jose Gallardo. The NBI arranged for delivery of the first P75 million tranche, after which the five individuals were arrested. Mabanta issued a statement on May 6 denying the allegations.

"There was no extortion. There were zero threats from us. That’s all bullshit. The ‘evidence’ provided showed one side of the story. We committed no crime: and we can prove it," he said. In the same statement, Mabanta addressed Romualdez directly: "Dear Martin, You know what you did to the country.

We know what you did to the country. He later became known as a social media strategist and political operator. Records show he maintained close ties to supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte, including associations with bloggers RJ Nieto and Sass Sasot, as well as Jimmy Bondoc, whom he called his cousin.

” Mabanta also maintained a friendship with former anti-insurgency spokesperson Lorraine Badoy and met with then-Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chief Andrea Domingo in 2022.

’s political operations. ” He stated that he conceptualized and created Marcos’ YouTube channel in 2018, which reached 500,000 subscribers by September 2021. When asked about Mabanta’s arrest, Marcos’ Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said on May 6 that the president and Mabanta are not friends.

She directed reporters to examine Mabanta’s relationship with the Duterte family instead. A source told Rappler that Mabanta had disengaged from Marcos even before the 2022 elections. Mabanta married his long-time partner Victoria on March 8, 2026, in an event attended by individuals linked to both the Marcos and Duterte camps, including Education Secretary Sonny Angara and former Marcos press secretary Trixie Angeles.

Mabanta has described himself as a national strategist, political operator, digital analyst, crisis manager, and problem solver. He identifies as an atheist.