The office of Senator Robinhood Padilla on Monday, Aug. 18, announced the resignation of actress Nadia Montenegro as one of its political officers, following allegations that she used marijuana within Senate premises.

In her written explanation addressed to Padilla’s office, Montenegro recounted that she received two memoranda in mid-August directing her to explain news reports and an incident report linking her to alleged marijuana use.

On August 13, she said she was required to respond to news reports that claimed an unnamed Senate employee was caught smoking marijuana in a restroom.

Montenegro “vehemently denied” being the staff member mentioned in the stories, stressing that no such incident took place in their office and that no report from the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) identified her.

The actress also pointed out inconsistencies between the news articles and the incident report later attached to a second memorandum she received on August 14. The report, dated August 13, referred to two alleged incidents: one in July involving a complaint of a marijuana-like odor, and another on August 12 when a staff member of Senator Panfilo Lacson supposedly reported a similar smell near the Senate extension offices.

The report claimed that Montenegro was the only person in the area at the time and that she denied smoking marijuana but admitted to possessing a vape. Montenegro clarified that she used the Senate’s PWD comfort room on August 12, not the ladies’ comfort room, and that she showed her flavored e-cigarette to the OSAA personnel who questioned her.

She lamented that the incident report, which she said contained no finding that she used marijuana, nonetheless circulated on social media and was picked up by the press.

“I was unfairly subjected to publicity trial, misjudgments, bashings, and grave humiliation. My children were unjustly became the subject of ridicule, calling them the children of a ‘drug addict,’” Montenegro said.

“These claims have caused great pain and distress to me and my family. It is deeply hurtful to see my name and reputation tarnished and destroyed by a story that is simply not true,” she added.

Montenegro urged the Senate to review how such incident reports reach the media “prematurely and pre-emptively” and maintained that CCTV footage would disprove the allegations.

Despite her resignation, Montenegro stood by her denial, saying: “Now, even if after investigation I will be adjudged as innocent, the damage has been done. It can never erase the stigma that me and my children have experienced.”

Following this incident, several senators have made separate calls for random drug tests among the Upper Chamber's employees. Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri and his entire staff underwent drug testing on Monday, encouraging his colleagues to do the same.