Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) anchor CJ Hirro said she is “innocent and very much alive” in a Facebook post Sunday, her first public statement after being named a person of interest by former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Hirro said she is “somewhere safe” and claimed she does not know the reason she was included in the matter, but said she had been given instructions.
“Days ago, our team was given clear instructions on what we are to do in case anything happens to Franco Mabanta or anyone in our team,” she wrote. “I did not know what that was about, but the instructions to me were these: one, secure your family and protect the truth. Second, make sure this episode gets out there still,” she added, along with a link to a YouTube video.
Hirro said the video, which she claimed was “not worth P350 million,” was part of a PGMN episode that aired Monday midnight.
The video alleged irregularities involving Romualdez and discussed PGMN founder Franco Mabanta, who has been linked to alleged extortion claims. It stated that Mabanta was “repeatedly approached, courted for two weeks, consistently lied to, and ultimately conned to make it look like extortion.”
In the video description, PGMN said it would “give Romualdez what he is afraid of,” using the hashtag #MartinLooterFund, and added that the episode contains the story the former House speaker “wanted to kill.”
Romualdez has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.