MANILA — A staff member from the office of Senator Robin Padilla is under investigation following reports alleging marijuana use inside the Senate premises.

The Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), upon instruction from Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero, confirmed that it has launched a formal inquiry and initiated random drug testing among Senate employees and staff. A report has already been submitted to Escudero and to Senator Padilla’s office for appropriate action.

According to local media reports, OSAA personnel allegedly detected the smell of marijuana in a Senate corridor and traced it to Padilla’s office, where a staffer was found inside a bathroom. No substance was recovered, and the staff member reportedly claimed the odor came from an air freshener.

Padilla’s legal counsel, Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado, confirmed that the senator’s office has asked the staffer to submit a written explanation within five days.

“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,” Jurado said.

He clarified that he was not summoned by OSAA nor did he file a complaint, but visited the security office to verify the report.

“I went [to OSAA] 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,” Jurado added. “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.”

Jurado said their internal checks found no evidence of marijuana use and emphasized that their inquiry was based solely on clues from the media report.

“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,” he said.

Asked whether the allegation could be true, Jurado responded:

“Hirap naman mag-speculate. Pero wala. Siguro let’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.”

Senator Padilla, who has been floated as a possible future chair of the Senate Ethics Committee, has yet to issue a public statement regarding the incident.

The OSAA reiterated its commitment to impartiality and said it will continue conducting random drug tests as part of its response to the allegations.

📷 Philippine News Agency/Avito Dalan