Palace: Mabanta’s apology a 'lesson' on creating baseless intrigue

Malacañang on Monday said PGMN founder Franco Mabanta’s apology to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos serves as a “lesson” against making baseless accusations. Mabanta released an apology video addressed to the First Couple, as well as Vice President Sara Duterte and Naga City Mayor Leni Robredo, for his previous criticisms. He also claimed that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez had engineered the rift between Marcos and Duterte. “By apologizing or admitting their mistake, how can they convince people that their story is true? So, the lesson here is: Don’t create controversy, especially when there’s no basis,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in Filipino. She also said baseless accusations only victimize unsuspecting Filipinos and keep them uninformed. “So, avoid stirring up intrigue. If you’re going to conduct any investigation, make sure you have evidence. There’s no need to drag anyone’s family into it or bring unrelated matters into the issue. If you have evidence, then file a case immediately,” Castro said in Filipino. When asked about the status of the relationship between Marcos and Romualdez, Castro said she had not seen Romualdez in Malacañang since he was linked to the alleged corruption controversy. At a briefing in Cebu last May, Castro sought to disassociate Marcos from Mabanta, who was then arrested over an alleged attempt to extort P350 million from Romualdez. Mabanta was released days later after posting bail. Mabanta’s social media footprint, however, showed that he had been working for the Marcoses as early as 2018. In January of that year, he took on a formal role as social media director for the Marcos family, handling Marcos’ weekly vlogs. /mcm