A viral Peanut Gallery Media Network episode targeting former House Speaker Martin Romualdez has been taken down from YouTube — not by court order or government action, but over a copyright claim filed by ABS-CBN.
The video, titled “The Scandal That Should Finally End Martin Romualdez” and presented by PGMN anchor CJ Hirro, had already accumulated over 861,000 views and 58,000 likes on the platform before being blocked. A notice on the YouTube page now reads: “This video contains content from ABS-CBN, who has blocked it on copyright grounds.” PGMN’s YouTube channel, Peanut Gallery Media Network, has 307,000 subscribers. As of writing, the video remains accessible on Facebook.
The takedown adds a new twist to an already complicated controversy. The episode, which PGMN titled “#MartinLooterFund,” tackled allegations of corruption, budget padding, and lack of transparency in the House of Representatives. Among the key claims raised was what PGMN described as the near doubling of the House budget from ₱16.3 billion in 2023 to ₱33.67 billion by 2025.
In the video description, PGMN accused Romualdez of attempting to suppress the episode, writing: “We will give Romualdez what he is afraid of,” alongside the hashtag #MartinLooterFund. The description also claimed the episode contained the story the former House speaker “wanted to kill.”
The release came days after the dramatic arrest of PGMN founder Franco Mabanta. The National Bureau of Investigation arrested Mabanta and four others over Romualdez’s complaint that they tried to extort up to ₱350 million from him in exchange for not releasing an alleged exposé video that would supposedly link him to corruption in the House of Representatives.
PGMN denied the allegations, describing the operation as “malicious entrapment” and claiming Mabanta had been lured into the situation. “Franco was the one who was repeatedly approached, courted for two weeks, consistently lied to, and ultimately conned to make it look like extortion,” the group said. Mabanta maintained that it was Romualdez’s camp that made the first approach — not the other way around — and that they never intended to suppress the story.
Hirro, who appears in and narrates the exposé, is separately facing legal heat. The NBI issued a subpoena for her as a person of interest in the extortion case, though her legal counsel maintained she is not a respondent in the complaint and described her as “a journalist with credibility and integrity.” Hirro did not appear before the NBI on the scheduled date. Her lawyer informed the bureau she was out of the country, saying she was not in hiding.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said investigators had noted discrepancies between a three-minute video clip allegedly used in connection with the extortion and the 90-minute full exposé, with screenshots appearing to show Hirro wearing different clothes and having a different appearance in the two videos despite delivering nearly identical messages.
A separate complaint filed by former Quezon City Congressman Marvin Rillo asked the NBI to determine whether PGMN or its personalities were paid, contracted, or commissioned to promote political candidates or attack opponents, and whether such arrangements were properly disclosed under applicable laws.
Romualdez’s camp dismissed the exposé as a tool for leverage rather than journalism. “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,” said lawyer Elaine Atienza, Romualdez’s spokesperson.
Romualdez himself has maintained his innocence amid broader flood control corruption allegations that have been under investigation since 2025. The NBI case and related complaints remain pending. No court has ruled on any of the allegations against any party.
