Actress Nadia Montenegro is on leave as a political officer of Senator Robin Padilla while facing an investigation into allegations that she smoked marijuana inside the Senate premises, his chief of staff confirmed.
Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado denied reports that Montenegro resigned.
“Not true. Not true. We have not received any resignation from Nadia. Resignation letter from Nadia. Not true. She’s still with us,” Jurado said.
He explained that Montenegro remains employed as Padilla’s political officer but has been asked to respond to the incident report of the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA). Jurado later clarified that she had been directed to go on leave.
“On August 13, 2025, even before the investigation conducted by the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA), the office commenced an initial internal investigation regarding media reports allegedly linking Ms. Nadia Montenegro. On the same day, she was directed to take a leave of absence, effective immediately,” Jurado said.
He confirmed that the “Nadia Montenegro” identified in the OSAA report is indeed the same person employed under Padilla’s office.
“We are still waiting for Nadia’s explanation. Kasi ano kami? Tied din kami. How can we act? We do not know kung ano yung kasabihin niya rin sa incident report as well as the two previous news articles. So we’re still waiting for that,” he added.
Jurado said he has no objection to the OSAA’s move to continue random drug testing of employees.
“Wala naman tayong magagawa roon, it’s a government policy. Ginagawa naman talaga yun ever since maski, di lang ngayon,” he said.
The allegation stemmed from an incident report filed by OSAA staff member Victor Patelo, who investigated complaints of an “unusual odor” near the ladies’ comfort room close to the senators’ extension offices.
Patelo reported to OSAA chief, retired Maj. Gen. Mao Aplasca, that the first incident occurred around 5 p.m. in the second week of July 2025, when staff reported a strong odor in their area. He said a similar report was made on 12 August.
In the second case, Patelo said a staff member from Senator Panfilo Lacson’s office claimed the odor resembled marijuana and alleged that the only person in the area at the time was Montenegro.
“The male staff member asked me to discreetly approach Ms. Montenegro, which I did when she walked past my post, as I was unable to leave my station being the only one on duty at the time,” Patelo stated.