Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III has called on Senate President Francis Escudero to implement mandatory random drug testing in the Senate following reports of alleged marijuana use inside the chamber’s premises.
In a letter to Escudero, Sotto said the move is necessary to ensure a drug-free workplace and “to maintain the morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and courtesy shall be observed in the civil service.”
The controversy stems from reports linking actress Nadia Montenegro, a staff member in the office of Senator Robin Padilla, to the alleged incident. Padilla, through his chief of staff Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado, confirmed that Montenegro has been asked to take a leave of absence while both the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms and Padilla’s office investigate the matter.
Montenegro, who has denied the allegations, was given five days—until Monday—to submit her written explanation.
Sotto, a former chairman of the Dangerous Drugs Board, did not directly mention Padilla or Montenegro in his letter. He clarified that his call for drug testing was prompted solely by “news articles regarding an alleged use of marijuana within the Senate premises.”
Sotto also reminded his colleagues that the Senate previously conducted mandatory random drug tests in 2018 in compliance with the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, Civil Service Commission rules, and Senate policy.
Two other senators joined the chorus of outrage.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, also a member of the minority, announced that he and his entire staff will voluntarily undergo drug testing to “anchor the chamber’s standards on conduct that fits its role as a lawmaking body.”
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian blasted the incident as an embarrassment to the Senate and pushed for the immediate dismissal of any employee proven to have used illegal drugs within its premises.