Nadia Montenegro resigns amid marijuana issue

Actress Nadia Montenegro resigned Monday as a political affairs officer for Senator Robinhood Padilla, citing concerns for her mental health and her children’s welfare. The resignation follows allegations linking her to an incident involving the smell of marijuana inside the Senate premises.

Padilla’s chief of staff, Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado, confirmed the senator’s office had accepted Montenegro’s five-page written explanation and resignation letter.

In her letter, dated 15 August, Montenegro denied being the staff member involved in the alleged marijuana incident, which stemmed from a 13 August report by a Senate security officer. The report mentioned a “suspicious odor” resembling marijuana from a ladies’ restroom near senators’ offices but did not name Montenegro. Her name, however, surfaced in subsequent media reports.

“For the sake of my mental health and the welfare of my children, I decided to tender my resignation from my position in Senator Padilla’s office effective immediately,” she wrote.

Montenegro said her resignation should not be seen as an admission of guilt, but as a way to prevent the issue from distracting the Senate.

“My decision to resign should not be misconstrued as an admission of guilt — it is not,” she wrote. “Rather, it is a demonstration of my deep respect for the Senate and Senator Padilla’s office, so that this issue does not cause further distraction or harm.”

She denied any wrongdoing, stating that she used a separate restroom designated for persons with disabilities on 12 August, not the ladies’ room mentioned in the report. She also questioned how the internal report was leaked to the media, calling it a “publicity trial” that caused “grave humiliation” for her and her family.

“My children were unjustly made the subject of ridicule, calling them the children of a ‘drug addict.’ One comment even said maybe my children are drug addicts as well,” Montenegro wrote. “Even if I am later found innocent, the stigma that me and my children have experienced will never be erased.”

The Senate has not released further findings or identified any individuals in connection with the reported incident. Jurado said Padilla’s office has transmitted Montenegro’s case records to the Senate’s Human Resources Management Service.

In a related development, Padilla has filed Senate Bill 1200, also known as the “Drug-Free Government Act,” which would mandate annual drug testing for all elected and appointed public officials.

“If ordinary citizens are expected to be free from illegal drugs, it should begin with our public servants,” Padilla said in a statement. “Leadership must be untainted and willing to meet the standards of honesty and accountability.”

The proposed bill requires all government officials, including those in government-owned and -controlled corporations, to undergo both hair follicle and urine drug tests every year. Those who test positive could face suspension or removal from office.

The bill also provides for voluntary drug testing for electoral candidates within 90 days before an election to give voters more transparency. Padilla said the measure aims to strengthen the integrity of public service and set a strong example in the nation’s campaign against illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, an independent health reform advocate on declared opposition to the legalization of marijuana in the Philippines and in a statement sent to DAILY TRIBUNE, Dr. Tony Leachon argued that marijuana, in any form, “carries the risk of deceptive use and moral ambiguity.”

“When its presence in the Senate triggers alarm, it is illogical and irresponsible to push for its normalization among the public. The inconsistency undermines public trust and exposes a troubling double standard: one rule for the governed, another for the governing,” Leachon said.

“How can lawmakers endorse a substance for public use that they themselves deem dangerous enough to warrant internal surveillance and testing? This is not just counterintuitive — it is emblematic of a deeper institutional dissonance,” he added.

Leachon made the statement after Camarines Sur Rep. Miguel Luis Villafuerte refiled a measure seeking to allow Filipinos suffering from epilepsy and other debilitating illnesses to use a non-addictive strain of the marijuana plant as a legal and relatively more affordable pain reliever.

Villafuerte said House Bill 420 also aims to establish the Medical Cannabis Office, under the Department of Health, as the primary regulatory, administrative, and monitoring agency.

The lawmaker also assured the bill “outlines the role of the Food and Drug Administration in ensuring compliance with health and safety standards and of the Commission on Higher Education in integrating medical cannabis education into relevant tertiary degree programs.”