Romualdez slams Mabanta: Extortion is a crime, not journalism

The camp of Leyte Representative and former speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez accused political content creator Franco Mabanta and his Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) company of extortion, saying Mabanta and his crew were not doing the work of journalists.

Atty. Elaine Atienza, spokesperson for the former speaker, issued the statement after PGMN alleged that Mabanta's arrest was a setup to prevent them from releasing their supposed report linking Romualdez to the flood control mess.

Atienza said Romualdez simply did what any person under the same circumstance would do: Report the matter to the proper authorities.

"PGMN is twisting the narrative. Ang isyu dito ay hindi tungkol sa malayang pamamahayag. Lalong hindi ito tungkol sa karapatan ng sinuman na punahin ang gobyerno. Ang tunay na tanong: may humingi ba ng pera kapalit ng katahimikan?" Atienza said in a statement.

(PGMN is twisting the narrative. The issue here is not about freedom of the press, nor is it about the right to criticize anyone in government. The real question: did anyone ask for money in exchange for silence?)

Atienza said PGMN's move to use the alleged video expose as "leverage" in exchange for money was an extortion attempt and fails to align with the journalism profession.

Mabanta and four others were arrested Wednesday during an entrapment operation by NBI agents.

On the same day, they underwent inquest proceedings for alleged robbery and extortion against Romualdez.

"The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) acted on that report pursuant to its mandate under the law. Whatever materials or exposes they claim to possess are irrelevant to the criminal allegations of extortion now under investigation," Atienza said.

"If anyone believes he has evidence of wrongdoing by public officials, the proper course is simple: release it, submit it to the authorities, and let the proper institutions act on it—not use it as leverage in exchange for money," She added.

"That is what PGMN did: they purportedly produced a video that was allegedly ready to run several weeks ago and yet chose not to release it. That is not journalism, that is extortion. Ultimately, this case will be decided by facts, evidence, and the rule of law—not by competing narratives on social media," Atienza added.

PGMN's actions, Atienza said, undermines legitimate journalism and damages public trust in genuine media institutions.

"Simple lang po ito: Sa demokrasya, malayang pumuna. Pero malinaw po sa ating batas: Isang krimen ang pangingikil," Atienza added.

(In a democracy, we are free to criticize. But the law is clear: extortion is a crime.)

Hours after the arrest, the PGMN issued a statement insisting that Mabanta and his group were "innocent" and described the arrest as a "setup."

PGMN claimed it had spent the past several months preparing what it described as a “comprehensive” exposé on alleged corruption involving Romualdez, adding that the group was preparing to release a 90-minute video on the matter.

“The episode was filmed several weeks ago. It has been fully edited—it is 90 minutes-long, packed with hard evidence, and ready for release,” the statement said.

The group denied committing extortion and rejected the allegations raised by the NBI.

“There was no extortion. There were ZERO threats from us,” the PGMN post read.

“Romualdez did this to silence us,” the statement said. — VDV, GMA News