Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Article (news)

PGMN's CJ Hirro and Franco Mabanta

ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA — A supposedly explosive video released by Franco Mabanta-led online media startup Peanut Gallery Media Network on former House Speaker Martin Romualdez&#x27;s alleged involvement in corruption in flood control projects did not uncover anything new and was a &quot;total waste of time&quot;, a UP Journalism professor said.</p><p>The video was released days after the National Bureau of Investigation arrested Mabanta in what it said was a sting operation in an alleged extortion attempt on the Leyte lawmaker.</p><p>PGMN said the arrest was a &quot;setup&quot; and that the video would be released to expose Romualdez.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/10/nbi-reveals-surge-in-reported-extortion-victims-linked-to-franco-mabanta-group-1112">More &#x27;extortion victims&#x27; linked to Franco Mabanta, group coming forward—NBI<br/></a></div><p>&quot;I was expecting something explosive,&quot; UP professor Danilo Arao said on ANC&#x27;s &quot;Dateline Philippines&quot;, adding the nearly two-hour video was just &quot;rehashed items coming from news media organizations.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wqcSAicS1fA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><p>He said the supposed exposé by PGMN anchor CJ Hirro — <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/8/nbi-issues-subpoena-to-pgmn-anchor-cj-hirro-1741">a person of interest in the case against Mabanta </a> — was &quot;not worth&quot; the P300 million that Mabanta allegedly demanded from Romualdez to keep the video from being released.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s hard to believe that this can be a good leverage to get P350 million,&quot; he said, referring to a higher amount that Mabanta had allegedly previously demanded from Romualdez.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s a little bit hard to imagine unless the Romualdez camp fell for the trickery and deception committed by PGMN people.&quot;</p><p>Romualdez, who is among the subjects of an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman, resigned as House speaker last year because of the flood-control controversy.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/4/25/remulla-confirms-freeze-order-on-romualdez-over-flood-control-probe-2234">Remulla confirms freeze order on Romualdez over flood control probe<br/></a></div><p>Arao said that Romualdez and his wife Tingog Party-List Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez &quot;need to be properly investigated&quot; for alleged corruption but stressed that this is already happening and that PGMN&#x27;s supposed exposé is only riding on previous reports by other newsrooms.</p><p>He also cautioned against how Hirro delivered the supposed exposé, which he said also suggested a &quot;messianic complex&quot; that journalists should not have.</p><div><br/></div><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-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:514px;height:627px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" 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=2053698801479897318&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%3A2026-05-11T08%3A02%3A58.806058%3Af69a4214-b1e9-4d76-8bab-a9fa58520174%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=6f82f391bc41020e11a227533a49cde97d8d01d1&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2053698801479897318"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;You&#x27;re not supposed to be using expletives and shouting that you will be the one to take [the Romualdezes] down.&quot;</p><p>PGMNI has marketed Hirro as &quot;the best journalist in the country&quot;, saying her videos had influenced races in the 2025 elections.</p>

<p>"I was expecting something explosive," UP professor Danilo Arao said on ANC's "Dateline Philippines", adding the nearly two-hour video was just "rehashed items coming from news media organizations."</p>

"I was expecting something explosive," UP professor Danilo Arao said on ANC's "Dateline Philippines", adding the nearly two-hour video was just "rehashed items coming from news media organizations."

Supposedly explosive PGMNI video ‘a total waste of time’ — journalism prof

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Supposedly explosive PGMNI video ‘a total waste of time’ — journalism prof

ABS-CBN News

Published May 11, 2026 03:42 PM PHT

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Updated May 11, 2026 11:56 PM PHT

Read More:

Peanut Gallery Media Network

PGMN

Franco Mabanta

CJ Hirro

Danilo Arao

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