NBI arrests PGMN founder Mabanta, 4 others in alleged  P300-M Romualdez extortion

By Erika Mae P. Sinaking, Reporter

THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said on Wednesday it arrested five individuals in an entrapment operation tied to an alleged multimillion-peso robbery-extortion scheme involving a complaint by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez.

The operation, which took place on Tuesday, resulted in the arrest of Roberto Ma. Franco Cruz Mabanta, known founder and chairman of the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), NBI Director Melvin A. Matibag said in a livestreamed news briefing in Pasay city.

Also apprehended were Ericson James D. Pacaba, John Alexander Vasquez Gomez, Jardine Christian Requio Serrano, and Franco Jose Gallardo.

According to the NBI, the case involves an alleged P300-million extortion attempt against the former House Speaker.

“Let me set the record straight immediately because they might say that it curtails his freedom of expression. We don’t investigate opinions, what we investigate are crimes,” Mr. Matibag said in mixed English and Filipino.

The NBI said that the investigation stems from a complaint filed by Mr. Romualdez alleging that Mr. Mabanta, through an intermediary, threatened to release online content purportedly linking the lawmaker to corruption within the House of Representatives.

The NBI said the suspects demanded the P300-million sum in exchange for withholding the material, with the payment structured into four tranches of P75 million.

The entrapment was initiated at The Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City, where Mr. Mabanta allegedly met with undercover agents posing as representatives of the complainant.

Mr. Matibag said that the suspects were tracked to a private facility in Pasig City for the actual delivery of the first tranche.

He added that the arrests were strictly evidence-based.

“During the meeting [at The Manila Peninsula Hotel], Mabanta allegedly reiterated his demand and instructed the agents to deliver the money at Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City,” the NBI said in a statement.

“Recovered from the subjects were the entrapment money and mobile phones allegedly used in coordinating the transaction,” it added.

In a response issued via the Peanut Gallery Media Network Facebook page, which has 668,000 followers, Mr. Mabanta denied the charges, labeling the arrest as a “setup” intended to suppress a 90-minute video exposé.

“We are innocent. This was a setup,” Mr. Mabanta said. “There was no extortion. There were zero threats from us. We committed no crime and we can prove it. Martin Romualdez did this to silence us because the timing of our exposé would leave him in a desperate situation.”

The PGMN chairman further alleged that his team had been warned of threats to their physical safety prior to the operation. “If this is the price to pay to do what’s right, then so be it,” he said. “I gave explicit instructions that if anything happens to any of us, our legal teams are to fully publish the 90-minute exposé on every major social media platform.”

The five suspects are currently in NBI custody and face charges for Robbery (Extortion) in relation to Republic Act No. 10175, also known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.