PGMN anchor ‘no-show’ at NBI; ‘out of town,’ says counsel
Peanut Gallery Media Network (PGMN) anchor CJ Hirro did not appear before the National Bureau of Investigation on Monday to comply with the subpoena issued against her. According to her lawyer, Hirro was “out of town.”
Hirro was subpoenaed by the NBI last week in connection with the bureau’s investigation into the alleged extortion attempt by PGMN founder Franco Mabanta and four others on former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In an ambush interview after his appearance at the NBI’s Organized and Transnational Crime Division (OTCD), Hirro’s counsel Lian Cacapit said he and another lawyer arrived at the NBI to represent Hirro and to personally receive the subpoena.
“She’s out of town,” Cacapit said when asked why the PGMN anchor was not around to personally appear before the agency.
The lawyer said Hirro was not in hiding, and her out-of-town trip had nothing to do with the issue she was facing before the NBI.
“She’s not hiding … She sent me here to represent her in good faith,” Cacapit said.
Mabanta and four alleged cohorts were arrested on Tuesday night following Romualdez’s complaint that they tried to extort up to P350 million from him in exchange for not releasing an alleged “exposé video” that would supposedly link him to corruption in the House of Representatives.
NBI Director Melvin Matibag earlier said Hirro was a “person of interest” in the case because she was featured in the sample video clip allegedly sent to Romualdez as part of the extortion try.
Hirro has resurfaced on social media after having deactivated her Facebook and other online accounts following the arrest of Mabanta and his companions.
PGMN released its purported exposé on Romualdez on Sunday night on YouTube, with Hirro serving as anchor of the 1 hour and 49-minute video.
The Romualdez case may not be the only legal trouble Hirro will face. Former Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo on Monday submitted an affidavit to the NBI asking the bureau to file four cyberlibel complaints against Hirro for alleged defamatory attacks against him.
In a chance interview on Monday, Rillo said Hirro had been attacking him in her online content at PGMN since last year, causing him to lose his reelection bid in the 2025 elections.
“CJ Hirro has been number 1 in attacking me with baseless evidence,” Rillo said.
The former lawmaker added that he was also included in the purported exposé video against Romualdez, linking him to alleged corruption in flood control projects.
Rillo said he had already filed a cyberlibel complaint against Hirro at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office in June 2025.
