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Franco Mabanta denies involvement in alleged robbery-extortion on Romualdez
Online media network founder Franco Mabanta on Wednesday denied being involved in an alleged robbery by extortion try on former speaker Martin Romualdez.
"It's not true, it's definitely not true," Mabanta told the reporters following his arrest.
He also noted that he hasn't seen the comments or posts on social media as he doesn't have his phone.
"Talk to my lawyer," Mabanta also said.
Mabanta and four others were arrested by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in an entrapment operation, NBI Director Melvin Matibag said Wednesday.
They will face charges of robbery by extortion in relation to alleged violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act following an entrapment operation linked to an alleged P300-million payoff demand involving Romualdez, the NBI said..
The NBI chief also said the alleged extortion scheme involved threats to release videos supposedly damaging to the complainant if payment demands were not met.
“May 5 magre-release sila ng part one ng video,” Matibag said.
(They planned to release part one of the video on May 5.)
According to the NBI, initial negotiations allegedly began around a year ago but resurfaced two weeks ago through a representative of the complainant, with the amount allegedly ballooning to P350 million before settling at a supposed “take it or leave it” demand of P300 million.
“Kasi a year ago, mababa lang ang amount. Pero through the representative of the complainant two weeks ago, it ballooned to P350 million,” Matibag said.
(A year ago, the amount being discussed was smaller. But through the complainant’s representative two weeks ago, it ballooned to P350 million.)
Mabanta is one of the founders of Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), a digital media platform launched in 2024 that produces political commentary and online content.
READ: EXPLAINER: Who is Franco Mabanta?
—KG, GMA News
