Tovic Salvador

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1778054204020combo 6.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Photos from Franco Mabanta/Facebook and Zyann Ambrosio, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Photos from Franco Mabanta/Facebook and Zyann Ambrosio, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>Franco Mabanta made headlines on Tuesday, May 5, after being arrested along with four others for <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/6/social-media-personality-nabbed-over-alleged-extortion-attempt-0809">allegedly extorting money from a lawmaker.</a></p><p>As news about his arrest drew attention online, many people started to ask about the social media personality.</p><p>Mabanta, 43, is the founder and chief executive officer of Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN), which claims to be &quot;the only PH media company in pursuit of free speech absolutism.&quot; </p><p>Among its anchors are host Edu Manzano and tech CEO Ann Cuisia, <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/people-culture-events/2026/3/12/edu-manzano-finds-new-love-in-tech-ceo-ann-cuisia-1557">who confirmed their relationship</a> earlier this year via the media platform.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-3" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVsDv1FGHzw/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A3%2C%22os%22%3A7113363.399999976%2C%22ls%22%3A1292810.3999999762%2C%22le%22%3A1292852.5999999642%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="925" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-3" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Mabanta has been widely identified as a strategist in campaigns related to the 2022 presidential bid of Ferdinand &quot;Bongbong&quot; Marcos. </p><p>But on Wednesday, May 6, Palace press officer Claire Castro deflected questions of his supposed ties to Marcos as she showed photos of Mabanta with ex-president Rodrigo Duterte.</p><div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FabscbnNEWS%2Fposts%2Fpfbid02X6PmVYbdxVcff5uAjWPrShd45Drntspjx5FiqKsD6ZiV8RCjoR6JV29pni1hKkFGl&amp;show_text=false&amp;width=500" width="500" height="375" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><p>Before getting immersed in the political scene, Mabanta had roots in show business. </p><p>He first rose to fame as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz_85eRzlBk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jasper in a series of soda commercials</a>, which led to a career in hosting.</p><p>In the early 2000s, Mabanta was launched as one of the VJs of the music channel MYX, joining the likes of actress Heart Evangelista and actor Geoff Eigenmann.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" 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src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=517164773545218048&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-06T05%3A48%3A34.087301%3A3b9e63da-7464-4679-9520-432585c752d0%26action%3Dcorrect&amp;sessionId=cfef9d471010c8732731cc2719e292c77ce8b698&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:649px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="517164773545218048"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@thisisglxy/video/7376215701087997190" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="7376215701087997190" id="v18251653423417310" style="max-width:605px;min-width:325px"><iframe name="__tt_embed__v18251653423417310" sandbox="allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-scripts allow-top-navigation allow-same-origin" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7376215701087997190?lang=en-US&amp;referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-05-06T05%3A48%3A34.087301%3A3b9e63da-7464-4679-9520-432585c752d0%26action%3Dedit" style="width:100%;height:757px;display:block;visibility:unset;max-height:757px"></iframe></blockquote><script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><p>Mabanta is also known to be related to singer-lawyer Jimmy Bondoc, who previously held key positions in the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. or PAGCOR.</p><p>&quot;My cousin and good friend,&quot; he said in an Instagram post.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-1" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ_P12vvGo7/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=540&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A1%2C%22os%22%3A6979615.399999976%2C%22ls%22%3A1292810.3999999762%2C%22le%22%3A1292852.5999999642%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="612" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-1" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div></div>

<p>Franco Mabanta made headlines on Tuesday, May 5, after being arrested along with four others for allegedly extorting money from a lawmaker.</p>

Franco Mabanta made headlines on Tuesday, May 5, after being arrested along with four others for allegedly extorting money from a lawmaker.

From VJ to media executive: Who is Franco Mabanta?

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From VJ to media executive: Who is Franco Mabanta?

ABS-CBN News

Published May 06, 2026 03:57 PM PHT

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Updated May 06, 2026 05:36 PM PHT

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