A former congressman is among those preparing to file a formal complaint with the National Bureau of Investigation following the arrest of Peanut Gallery Media Network CEO Franco Mabanta, as the agency confirmed it has been flooded with hundreds of inquiries from individuals who may have faced similar treatment.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said roughly 200 calls and text messages came in after news of Mabanta’s arrest broke — many stopping short of filing outright complaints but strongly suggesting they had encountered the same alleged behavior.
“Ito seryoso. No’ng nabalita ‘yong pagkaaresto ni Franco Mabanta, walang biro, tawag at text, mga 200 ‘yung tumawag na trying to insinuate na may nangyari din sa kanila,” Matibag said in an interview on PRTV Prime Media.
Some of the callers, he noted, stopped short of direct accusations but made their meaning clear. “Hindi diretso, sinasabi, ‘buti naman, gawain talaga nila ‘yan,'” Matibag added.
Mabanta and four co-accused were released on bail after their arrest last week, during which they allegedly demanded PHP 300 million in exchange for suppressing a damaging documentary. They now face robbery extortion and cybercrime-related charges.
Despite the provisional release, Matibag said investigators retain custody of the electronic devices seized during the entrapment operation — material he described as central to building the case.
“We will be in continuing possession of the gadgets na nakuha namin sa kanila. Those form part ng ebidensiya na gagamitin namin,” he said.
The investigation has since expanded beyond the individuals initially arrested. Matibag said the NBI is scrutinizing PGMN’s on-air talent, internal operations, advertiser relationships, tax filings, and financial records to determine whether the alleged extortion scheme was coordinated at an organizational level.
“Sisilipin namin. We’ll look at the activities nila, pati financial activities, ano bang binabayad sa BIR. Sino ba advertiser niyo? Bakit nasu-survive n’yo ng ganyan?” he said.
Additional suspects could emerge as forensic work on the confiscated phones progresses and more complainants come forward. “Nag-iimbestiga pa kami, so I cannot say with certainty, but there’s a real big possibility na may makakasama pang makakasuhan,” Matibag said.
