The office of Senator Robin Padilla on Monday dismissed online posts claiming he had challenged House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos to appear before the Senate as “fake news.”
Padilla’s chief of staff, lawyer Rudolf Philip Jurado, clarified that the Senate committees on public information and mass media, and on cultural communities and Muslim affairs—both chaired by Padilla—have no involvement in matters handled by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) or the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
“The posts circulating online are not true—they are simply another piece of fake news,” Jurado said.
The posts, mostly from pro-Duterte Facebook pages, falsely quoted Padilla as challenging Marcos, the eldest son of President Bongbong Marcos, to appear for a Senate investigation.
Marcos previously told the ICI he is “willing to appear before the Commission at any time,” following allegations by former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co that he and his father, President Bongbong Marcos ordered billions in 2025 budget insertions.