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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
May 8, 2026 | 3:55pm
Franco Mabanta (center) gestures during a filmed interview with then former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (left) and former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile in 2018.
Franco Mabanta via FB
MANILA, Philippines — The Palace has confirmed that online personality Franco Mabanta previously served as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s social media director in 2018.
"No one is denying that Franco Mabanta was previously the president's social media director," Palace Press Officer Claire Castro told reporters in a chance interview Friday, May 8.
Based on the information given to her, Castro said Mabanta served as Marcos' social media director for "around six months" in 2018 until he was removed because of his "style."
She did not say specifically when his work for Marcos started and ended in 2018.
"Medyo hindi nagustuhan 'yung style [he didn't quite like the style]," Castro said, noting that she herself does not have "personal knowledge" about Mabanta and was only relaying information shared with her.
Castro said she believes Mabanta had nothing to do with Marcos' 2022 presidential campaign, given he had only been in charge of his social media in 2018.
There has been renewed attention on the self-proclaimed social media and political operator after his arrest last week over an alleged attempt to extort former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president's cousin.
Following the National Bureau of Investigation's announcement of Mabanta's arrest, social media has been abuzz with the extent that Mabanta worked for or supported both Marcos and former President Rodrigo Duterte.
In 2019, Mabanta shared on Facebook that he was the "chief social media director for the Marcoses" in the previous year.
Mabanta's social media posts show he was an avid supporter of the Marcos-Duterte tandem until at least 2022. He also referred to Marcos in some posts as "Tito Bonget."
Mabanta and the communications group he founded — Peanut Gallery Media Network — have denied the extortion allegations against them.
