Padilla orders probe on staff's alleged marijuana use inside Senate
By Dhel Nazario
At A Glance
- Senator Robinhood Padilla ordered an internal probe and sought a Senate security report on allegations that one of his staff was caught smoking marijuana inside the Senate.
Senator Robinhood "Robin" Padilla has called for an investigation into reports that one of his staff was caught smoking marijuana within the premises of the Senate.
Senator Robinhood Padilla (Senate PRIB photo)
Lawyer Rudolf Philip Jurado, Padilla's chief-of-staff, said on Thursday, Aug. 14, that they have asked for a written explanation from the staff mentioned in a circulating news report. The explanation is expected to be submitted within the day.
Upon Padilla's directive, Jurado said that he met with the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms (OSAA), Ret. Maj. General Mao Aplasca, to ask for an incident report in order to verify if they caught the staff using marijuana.
"I went to OSAA to confirm if it was our office was the one mentioned in news items and to get information because were conducting our own investigation on this matter," Jurado said in a text message.
Aplasca said that they are still investigating the case and that they will submit their report to Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero.
Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. said that the OSAA has submitted its report on the incident.
"As instructed by the Senate President Escudero, we have provided a copy of this report to the Office of Senator Robinhood Padilla for their information and appropriate action," he added.