Mabanta arrest draws attention to years of support for Marcos, Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang played down ties between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and arrested social media personality and blogger Franco Mabanta, who has publicly described himself as the president's former "chief social media director."

At a press briefing on Wednesday, May 6, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Mabanta was "not a friend" of the president and pointed reporters to his ties with the Dutertes.

This came hours after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) announced his arrest over an alleged P350-million extortion attempt against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

"He is not a friend of the president, but I would prefer if this is what you ask, because Franco Mabanta posted this himself — maybe this is what you should ask, what his relationship is with the Dutertes. Harry Roque is even there," Castro said in Filipino, while holding up a photo of Mabanta with former president Rodrigo Duterte. She also showed a photo of Mabanta and Vice President Sara Duterte.

Mabanta and four others were arrested Tuesday night in an entrapment operation at The Manila Peninsula in Makati and now face charges of robbery by extortion in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act. He has denied the allegations.  

The photos Castro showed came from a 2021 post on Mabanta’s Instagram account, part of a carousel showing him with several politicians. In addition to the Dutertes, Mabanta is seen posing with Marcos himself, former Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Bong Go and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno.

Mabanta also appears on camera as the interviewer in vlogs produced for Marcos's YouTube channel starting in 2018, including a sit-down that year with Marcos and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile. In a January 2018 Facebook post announcing the weekly series, he wrote that he was "setting the stage for the Marcos name every week all throughout 2018." 

A year later, he described himself in another Facebook post as the family's former "chief social media director." He also refers to Marcos in some posts as "Tito Bonget." 

The self-proclaimed social media strategist and political operator is one of several personalities who publicly supported the Marcos-Duterte tandem in the 2022 elections. 

Pressed at Wednesday's briefing on what she knew of Mabanta's relationship with the Dutertes, the Palace press officer had deflected. 

"You should ask him, especially since he has featured a lot of content in his articles that essentially goes against the administration," Castro said, referring to content from Mabanta's Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) critical of the Marcos administration.

"If they have committed a crime, they should be held accountable. But, definitely, due process is needed in everything," she added.

Spotlight on 'Peanut' group

The NBI has also identified Mabanta's co-accused as Ericson James Pacaba, John Alexander Vasquez Gomez, Franco Jose Gallardo, and a fifth person surnamed Serrano.

Mabanta launched PGMN in 2024, two years into the Marcos presidency. The Facebook page now claims more than 665,000 followers, and its lineup of anchors and commentators includes Greco Belgica, who chaired the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission under Duterte, political commentator Orion Perez Dumdum, and transport advocate James Deakin.

The organization's bio promises to "never censor" voices across the political spectrum.

In recent months, PGMN's coverage has turned increasingly critical of the Marcos administration. Rep. Terry Ridon (Bicol Saro) recently accused the network of spreading disinformation over a viral post claiming a 900-percent surge in an electricity bill.

Marcos' influencer network

Mabanta is among a group of self-styled political commentators and online operators whose vocal support helped power the Marcos-Duterte tandem to their 2022 election victory. 

A 2023 study by media nonprofit Internews estimated that as much as P1.5 billion was spent on online political influencers during the 2022 polls, with Marcos's campaign accounting for roughly P351 million of it — the largest of any candidate.

Marcos bypassed the traditional press during his campaign and refused to attend debates or interviews with journalists. He had instead leaned on a network of vloggers and influencers like Mabanta who reached audiences directly on social media. 

In November 2020, VERA Files flagged a post by Mabanta for falsely claiming COVID-19 was the "first pandemic in a century" and for calling a single day's reported COVID-19 recoveries "record-shattering" without noting the figure was a week's accumulation. 

Mabanta dismissed the fact-check and accused VERA Files of bias against then-President Rodrigo Duterte.

In December 2017, blogger Jover Laurio, who runs the pro-opposition Pinoy Ako Blog, filed four counts of libel against him over Facebook posts that subjected her to demeaning remarks on her physical appearance.  

The Makati City Prosecutor's Office dismissed the complaint in January 2019 as it found insufficient evidence to indict him.