Padilla staff resigns amid drug allegations

THE OFFICE of Senator Robinhood “Robin” C. Padilla on Monday confirmed that its staff accused of using illegal drugs in the Senate building has resigned.

“Today, we received the written explanation and letter of resignation of Ms. Nadia Montenegro. Her resignation has been accepted,” Mr. Padilla’s Chief of Staff Rudolf Philip Jurado said in a statement.

Ms. Montenegro was named in an incidence report by the Office of the Seargent at Arms (OSAA) last week, noting an odor resembling marijuana was reported in the fifth-floor restroom of the Senator’s extension offices.

In her explanation and resignation letter, she denied that she used marijuana in the Senate premises and that she was the staff named in the report.

“I vehemently deny that I am the staff of the senator mentioned in those articles. There was no incident wherein personnel of the OSAA went to our office and found me in the restroom and asked me about the alleged smell of marijuana in the restroom of our office,” Ms. Montenegro said.

In the same letter, she cited her “mental health and the welfare of my children” as reasons for resigning.

“My decision to resign should not be misconstrued as an admission of guilt-it is not… To prevent this baseless issue from growing any further, I would rather remove myself from the spotlight and allow the Senate to focus on its important work,” she added.

Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri called on his fellow senators and their staff members to conduct voluntary drugs tests.

“I encourage senators and their offices to take a drug test so that there would be no more doubts that there are drug users in the Senate,” Mr. Zubiri told reporters, after undergoing drug testing.

“Let’s lead by example. Many people are saying that someone in the Senate is using drugs. So I said my staff and I should go first and volunteer ourselves for a test against illegal drugs, hoping that doing so would also encourage our colleagues,” he added. — Adrian H. Halili