A Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) anchor spoke out Wednesday following the arrest of the network’s founder, Franco Mabanta, in a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) entrapment operation.
In a Facebook post, Atty. Regal Oliva said the network has always stood for “free speech, independent commentary, and the constitutional right to question those in power,” emphasizing that “every individual is said to be innocent until proven otherwise.”
Oliva warned that incidents like Mabanta’s arrest raise public concerns and called for vigilance to ensure “the machinery of the State is never used—directly or indirectly—to chill dissent, suppress commentary, or silence critical voices.” She added that free expression is “a constitutional freedom that must remain protected, especially in times of controversy.”
Mabanta was arrested Tuesday for allegedly attempting to extort ₱350 million from former House Speaker Martin Romualdez over a video related to flood control projects. Romualdez reportedly cooperated with authorities in the entrapment operation.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag said further details would be released after Mabanta is submitted to inquest proceedings, where agents determine whether probable cause exists to file charges following a warrantless arrest. /DAILY TRIBUNE intern Dannah Macapagal