Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) — The office of Sen. Robin Padilla said Thursday it gave a female member of its staff five days to explain after an online news report claimed she was caught smoking a joint or marijuana inside the Senate premises.This, after the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) of the Senate also launched an investigationAtty. Rudolf Philip Jurado told ABS-CBN News that based on their internal investigation, nothing like what was mentioned in the online report happened.&quot;To be honest, yung may subject employee na parang mini-mention, we required her to submit a written explanation. Ikaw ba itong binabanggit dito? We gave her five days to explain kung siya yung mini-mention,&quot; he said. Jurado also said they gave the employee another five days to explain the matter, this time, in response to the incident reported issued by the OSAA.Some media reports claimed that OSAA personnel had traced the scent of marijuana to a senator’s office, where a staffer was found empty-handed in a bathroom. The staffer reportedly blamed the smell on air freshener, but some insiders supposedly suspect that the evidence could have been flushed out.Jurado said their only basis for asking a particular staff member for an explanation were the clues in the news report.&quot;Pero di rin kami sure kung siya yung mini-mention doon so to give her due process, mag-explain ka. Tignan mo, baka ikaw yung mini-mention dyan. Anong masasabi mo? Despite the fact na yung OSAA wala namang sinabi na may insidenteng ganun nangyari,&quot; he said.He declined to name the female staff member pending her submission.Jurado added the report that he was supposedly summoned to the OSAA and that he filed a complaint was &quot;not quite accurate.&quot;He said Padilla asked him to investigate the matter so he went to the OSAA to get more details, but its staff also appeared to not know of such an incident.&quot;I went there to get an incident report kasi sila yung sinasabing nakahuli, sila yung nakakita. E parang hindi rin nila alam kung meron ganun insidente. That is the truth. Pumunta ako doon not to file a complaint and not that I was summoned but to get information kasi we are also conducting our own report investigation. Kami ba ito? Wala rin silang masabi na may nangyaring ganong insidente,&quot; he said.He said he met with their office staff to ask if anything mentioned in the news report happened.&quot;Tinanong ko yung office staff namin. Walang nangyaring ganun. Sabi ko, how about yesterday? How about last week? Walang nangyaring ganun. Nothing happened. So pumunta naman ako sa OSAA,&quot; he said.Jurado could not pinpoint what could be the basis for the report.&quot;Hirap naman mag-speculate. Pero wala. Siguro let&#x27;s wait for the incident report ng OSAA. Makikita naman kung talagang totoo yung sinasabi doon sa news report, which based on our investigation kahapon, parang walang nangyari. Hindi nangyari yun. Very unfortunate na drag yung opisina namin,&quot; he said.On Wednesday, the OSAA said it would continue random drug testing of employees and staff following reports that a worker of the Senate smoked a joint  in the premises.&quot;We are still investigating this report since it was just reported to us recently…  As part of our immediate action, we will continue the conduct of random drug test among Senate employees and staff,&quot; the OSAA told ABS-CBN News.The OSAA said it would submit a report to the Senate President as soon as possible and give the media updates on the investigation.<div> </div><div>&#x27;NADIA MONTENEGRO&#x27; NAMED IN INCIDENT REPORT</div>The incident report submitted by Senate Security personnel Victor Patelo mentioned that Patelo was approached by a staff member of Senator Panfilo Lacson to report that the latter &quot;[noticed] an unusual odor coming from the ladies comfort room near the Senators&#x27; extension offices.&quot;A male Senate employee approached me, after introducing himself as a staff member of Senator Lacson, and reported noticing an unusual odor coming from the ladies comfort room neat the Senators&#x27; extension offices,&quot; Patelo said in the report.&quot;He claimed the odor resembled that of &quot;marijuana&quot; and stated that the only person in the area at the time was allegedly Ms. Nadia Montenegro.&quot;Patelo added that the male staff asked him to discreetly approach Montenegro, who denied that she was smoking inside the ladies&#x27; comfort room or using marijuana.&quot;Ms. Montenegro denied smoking inside the ladies&#x27; comfort room or using marijuana for that matter, but acknowledged possessing vape in her bag, which she said could have produced the unusual scent reported earlier by Senator Lacson&#x27;s staff,&quot; the report read.ABS-CBN News is trying to get Montenegro&#x27;s side.<div> </div><div>MORE STORIES: <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/8/13/driver-in-cllex-crash-tests-positive-for-illegal-drugs-1347">Driver in CLLEx crash tests positive for illegal drugs</a> <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/6/25/over-p9-billion-worth-of-illegal-drugs-incinerated-in-tarlac-facility-1148">Over P9-billion worth of illegal drugs incinerated in Tarlac facility</a> </div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz8gWM8iRADsJr&amp;cid=ABef9PV7kTuQnqXv"></script>

The office of Sen. Robin Padilla said Thursday it gave a female member of its staff five days to explain after an online news report claimed she was caught smoking a joint or marijuana inside the Senate premises.

The office of Sen. Robin Padilla said Thursday it gave a female member of its staff five days to explain after an online news report claimed she was caught smoking a joint or marijuana inside the Senate premises.

Robin Padilla's office, Senate probe aide's alleged marijuana use in premises

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Robin Padilla's office, Senate probe aide's alleged marijuana use in premises

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 14, 2025 10:00 AM PHT

|

Updated Aug 14, 2025 09:39 PM PHT

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illegal drugs

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