Castro: ‘BBM, Mabanta are not friends’

National

MALACAÑANG has sought to distance President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from social media operator Franco Mabanta, who was arrested over an alleged attempt to extort P350 million from former Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of the President.

During a press briefing in Lapu-Lapu City on Wednesday, May 7, Palace press officer Claire Castro insisted that the President and Mabanta “are not friends.”

Castro also avoided directly answering questions regarding Mabanta’s previous work for Marcos. Instead, she presented photos from Mabanta’s social media accounts showing him alongside former President Rodrigo Duterte, Vice President Sara Duterte, and their allies.

“Maybe you should ask what is his relationship with the Dutertes,” Castro told journalists.

She further suggested that questions be directed to Mabanta himself, who had publicly identified himself as a political strategist since 2016 before founding Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) in 2024, a report by Inquirer.net said.

According to Castro, PGMN “has been posting many articles which are against the [Marcos] administration.”

Despite Malacañang’s statements, Mabanta’s social media activity showed longstanding ties with the Marcos family dating back to 2018. At the same time, he had also been known online as a vocal supporter of Duterte and his administration, including its controversial war on drugs.

Mabanta once described himself online as a “supporter of Duterte, but not a ‘Dutertard’.”

By 2017, Mabanta had already appeared in photos with personalities associated with both the Marcos and Duterte camps, including Krizette Chu, Mark Anthony Lopez, and Lorraine Badoy.

In a Dec. 21, 2017 post, Mabanta shared photos of himself attending Christmas parties hosted by Duterte, Marcos, and longtime Ilocos Sur politician Chavit Singson.

By January 2018, Mabanta had formally taken on the role of social media director for the Marcos family, handling the President’s weekly vlogs. During this period, he frequently referred to Marcos as “tito” and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos as “tita” on social media. He also posted about the President’s sons — Sandro Marcos, Simon, and Vinnie — whom he casually called his “bros.”

In a Sept. 13, 2019 Facebook post greeting Marcos on his 62nd birthday, Mabanta reflected on his work with the family. “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. A truly good person,” he wrote.

“Happy, happy birthday, Tito Bonget. You are loved, my friend,” Mabanta added.

While serving as Marcos’ social media director, Mabanta also regularly posted support for the Dutertes and their allies, while criticizing then-Vice President Leni Robredo and her supporters.

Mabanta continued publicly praising Marcos and Sara Duterte after the UniTeam tandem won the 2022 elections. However, by 2023, he had reportedly stopped posting about both political camps.

In July 2024, shortly after Sara Duterte resigned as education secretary — signaling the collapse of the UniTeam alliance — Mabanta established Peanut Gallery Media Network. Facebook’s page transparency feature showed that PGMN was previously named “Firebrand Media Group.”

Although the platform branded itself as an “independent” and “neutral” watchdog, many online users later viewed it as aligned with narratives supportive of Duterte loyalists, commonly referred to as Diehard Duterte Supporters (DDS).

Among PGMN’s personalities are former Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission chair Greco Belgica, motoring vlogger James Deakin, Cebu-based lawyer Regal Oliva, and former Commission on Elections commissioner Rowena Guanzon. (Samantha Faye Alcoma, CTU-TC BAEL-ELSD Intern)