Is Franco Mabanta pro-Duterte or pro-Marcos? Check the receipts.

Social media operator Robert Ma. Franco Cruz Mabanta, or simply Franco Mabanta, made headlines on Tuesday, May 5, after no less than the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced his arrest for alleged extortion.

On May 5, the NBI’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division arrested Mabanta and four others during an entrapment operation for alleged extortion in relation to Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Apart from Mabanta, the NBI said they also nabbed:

• Ericson James D. Pacaba
• John Alexander Vasquez Gomez
• Jardine Christian Requio Serrano
• Franco Jose Gallardo

A complaint by former speaker Martin Romualdez triggered the operation.

Allegedly, Mabanta — founder and chairperson of the Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) — threatened the former speaker with online content “purportedly linking Representative Romualdez to corruption in the House of Representatives.”

Mabanta, according to the NBI, allegedly demanded P300 million, payable in four tranches of P75 million each, in exchange for not publishing the “alleged exposé.” The five were arrested after the NBI arranged for the delivery of the first tranche amounting to P75 million.

The PGMN founder, in a May 6 statement, claimed innocence and said the operation against him “was a setup.”

“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,” Mabanta said. “Dear Martin, You know what you did to the country. We know what you did to the country. Soon, hopefully, everyone will too.”

Mabanta was once associated with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Romualdez’s cousin. Whatever happened to these ties?

Mabanta’s network of Duterte ‘friends’

Born on February 23, 1983, the 43-year-old Mabanta calls himself a national strategist, political operator, digital analyst, crisis manager, and problem solver. He says he is an atheist or a person “who does not believe in the existence of God or any gods” (Merriam-Webster).

Mabanta was first introduced to the public as a video jockey of music channel Myx in the early 2000s, along with celebrities like Geoff Eigenmann. He had also appeared in a soda and telecommunications service commercial.

The further rise of social media in the 2010s paved the way for his career as a so-called “social media strategist.”

He became known as a staunch supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte and was associated with pro-Duterte bloggers RJ Nieto (Thinking Pinoy) and Sass Sasot. The three were said to be close friends.

In several social media posts, Mabanta called singer-turned-lawyer Jimmy Bondoc his cousin. Like Mabanta, Bondoc is also a prominent Duterte supporter, who ran for a Senate seat in 2025 under the former president’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan.

Mabanta is also “good friends” with Duterte’s spokesperson Harry Roque, whom he called in 2021 “intelligent, resilient, and loyal.” The social media strategist even gave Roque a platform in 2018 when the then-spokesperson was defending Duterte’s sexist jokes.

In an interview with Mabanta, Roque called feminists “OA” or over-acting when they got angry at Duterte’s jokes about women. (READ: Roque to feminists: ‘Just laugh’ at Duterte’s jokes)

Mabanta also shared interactions with two of Duterte’s most closest Cabinet members: aide-turned-Senator Bong Go and former communications secretary Martin Andanar.

In a 2021 post, the social media operator referred to Go as his “friend,” while calling Andanar his “bro” or brother as a term of endearment. On February 2, 2022 — ahead of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidential victory — Mabanta shared a message from Andanar, who told him that he could be the next spokesperson or communications secretary.

Serial red-tagger and former anti-insurgency spokesperson Lorraine Badoy — whom the Supreme Court punished in 2024 for threatening a judge — is also Mabanta’s “dear friend.” On November 7, 2021, Mabanta referred to Badoy as “one of the country’s fiercest voices against both the communist terrorists of the NPA (New People’s Army) and the unconstitutional censorship practices of Facebook fact-checking.”

In 2022, Mabanta also met with then-Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chief Andrea Domingo — whom Duterte appointed in 2016. “No politics; all tech,” said Mabanta. It was under Domingo’s term, by the way, when POGOs or Philippine offshore gaming operators were created. (READ: The saga of POGOs and Alice Guo)

The social media operator also has close ties with Prosecutor Darwin Cañete — a known Duterte supporter and part of the team that prosecuted Duterte critic Mamayang Liberal Representative Leila de Lima in her drug cases. All three drug cases against De Lima — filed under Duterte — had already been dismissed by the courts.

Mabanta tied the knot with his long-time partner, Victoria, on March 8, in the presence of names linked to Marcos and Duterte.

Among those in attendance were former senator and now Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and Marcos’ former press secretary Trixie Angeles, among others. Controversial Cavite lawmaker and Marcos critic Kiko Barzaga was there too.  

The Mabanta nuptials were held at Asador Alfonso in Cavite — a roasting house with one Michelin star. Victoria wore a wedding dress by renowned designer Rajo Laurel. 

Marcos’ ‘social media operator’

As early as 2018, Mabanta had been identified as Marcos’ social media director.

“Being a strategist and the Chief Social Media Director for the Marcoses was really unlike anything I had experienced in my life; less because theirs is indisputably the most crucial last name in Philippine history, but more because I was working for a proper human being,” Mabanta said in a social media post dated September 13, 2019.

When asked about Mabanta’s arrest, Marcos’ Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said on May 6 that the social media strategist and the President are not friends.

“Pero mas nanaisin ko po kung ito po ang inyong itatanong, dahil ito po mismo ang pinost ni Franco Mabanta. Baka ito po ang itanong ‘nyo kung ano ang relasyon niya sa mga Duterte (What I would want is for you to ask about this, because this is a post of Franco Mabanta. Maybe you should ask about his relationship with the Dutertes,” Castro said, while holding a printed photo of Mabanta with Duterte.

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A source told Rappler that Mabanta has long disengaged with Marcos — even before the 2022 elections. However, these details won’t erase the fact that Mabanta once worked for Marcos’ political operations in social media platforms.

In September 21, 2021, Mabanta made a post when Marcos’ YouTube page breached the 500,000-subscribers mark. He said he “conceptualized and created [Marcos’] channel” in 2018.

Amid qualms about the President’s educational attainment, Mabanta shared an edurank post about the 100 notable alumni of the University of Oxford, where Marcos was listed as No. 66. The list, however, did not address questions about Marcos’ education because it includes both “famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.”

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Oxford: Bongbong Marcos’ special diploma ‘not a full graduate diploma’

In 2021, Rappler found out that the special diploma given by the prestigious Oxford University to Marcos in 1978 “was not a full graduate diploma.”

Mabanta also posted two photos in his account in 2021: One with Marcos and late presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile (October 27, 2021); and two, Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte wearing “Uniteam” jackets (December 7, 2021).

In two social media posts, Mabanta also mentioned the name of presidential son and Ilocos Norte 1st District Sandro Marcos.

Other controversies

In 2017, at the height of the Duterte administration, Jover Laurio (the woman behind Pinoy Ako Blog) filed a complaint against Mabanta for four counts of libel. Mabanta, in several posts, referred to Laurio as an “Ogre Lady,” who is “profoundly disgusting” and “hideous.”

He also accused Laurio of playing the “victim card” and being funded by “Yellows,” referring to the Liberal Party. (READ: Pinoy Ako Blog’s Jover Laurio sues Franco Mabanta for libel)

In one of his posts mocking Laurio, Mabanta also dragged the name of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, saying: “Should we parade around the block and yell ‘shame, shame, shame’…. while she is being escorted to jail in handcuffs? I mean aside from [Maria] Ressa, if anyone in politics deserves this, isn’t it her?” 

Due to its critical reporting about the Duterte administration’s policies, Ressa and Rappler faced a list of complaints and cases, including a shutdown order. As of 2026, the only pending case against Ressa is cyber libel at the Supreme Court.

At one point, Mabanta also angered social media users due to his pro-fat shaming post, which he deleted later on: “I think the world would be a better place if all these weak minds that are captive to their bad food habits were constantly told to get off their fucking couches and stop being little bitches. Nothing motivates people to get into shape like insecurity.”

At the height of the presidential campaign in 2022, Mabanta took a swipe against then-candidate labor leader Leody de Guzman after the latter voiced out his opinion about continued oppression across administrations. “Commies are the worst,” said Mabanta.

PGMN: Mabanta’s baby

Mabanta founded PGMN which brands itself as the “only Philippine media channel in pursuit of free speech absolutism.”

PGMN anchors include former Commission on Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon, Duterte ally Greco Belgica, and beauty queen CJ Hirro, among others.

Although the channel claims it “gathers the best and most viral voices” regardless of their political affiliation, some of their contents lean toward conservatism.

They produced content about how the New People’s Army allegedly exploits the poor, and another content that red-tags Makabayan lawmakers by claiming that the bloc has alleged links to the rebel group. The channel also has a series of videos that question the participation of transgenders in events like sports and beauty pageants.

Repeatedly, PGMN called itself an independent media organization.

“We built PGMN with no suitcases of cash, no China funding, no oligarchs, and no dynasties behind us, just a small team that believes Filipinos deserve honest, fearless storytelling. Independent media survives only when the people who value it choose to keep it alive, and every merch purchase helps sustain the work we do,” said the channel.

But Mabanta’s arrest exposed a concern about the channel’s supposed independence.

The NBI said based on Romualdez’s complaint, Mabanta “allegedly conspired with several individuals, including one of the network’s anchors identified as ‘CJ Hirro'” in the extortion.

“At around 5:30 pm (May 5), Mabanta met with undercover agents posing as representatives of the complainant at The Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City,” the bureau said.

“During the meeting, Mabanta allegedly reiterated his demand and instructed the agents to deliver the money at Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City to a certain ‘Jimmy,’ later identified as Jardine Christian Serrano,” the NBI added. – Rappler.com