"It’s Showtime" hosts Jhong Hillario, Vice Ganda and Vhong Navarro

“It’s Showtime” hosts Vice Ganda and Vhong Navarro poked fun at Sen. Robin Padilla during a recent episode of the noontime show, with a joke that appeared to reference the controversy surrounding the senator’s legislative credentials.

It started when Vice compared Vhong’s outfit to the look worn by Padilla in the 1991 film “Maging Sino Ka Man,” which starred Padilla and Sharon Cuneta.

“Hiniram mo pa ’yung costume ni Robin Padilla sa ‘Maging Sino Ka Man’ with Sharon Cuneta!” Vice told Vhong.

“Aba siyempre tol, dapat ganu’n tayo!” Vhong replied.

He then broke into a rendition of the movie’s theme song, “Maging Sino Ka Man,” before Jhong Hilario interrupted him.

Vice then delivered the punchline.

“Ang galing. Magaling talaga ’to, idol ko ’to eh! Nakakapagpasa ’yan ng batas sa Bilibid,” he said.

The remark drew loud laughter, cheers and applause from the other hosts and the studio audience.

The joke comes after Padilla’s wife, Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla, found herself at the center of an online controversy earlier this month when a 2022 vlog resurfaced.

In the vlog, Mariel was defending her husband’s qualifications as a senator. She pointed out that Padilla had studied criminology and had spent time in prison before entering politics.

She also claimed that he had been able to pass a law while he was behind bars.

“Si Robin nung nasa Bilibid (New Bilibid Prison), nakapagpasa na ng batas, without even being a senator,” Mariel said in the old vlog.

The statement drew criticism online, with some questioning how Padilla could have passed legislation without being a member of the Senate.

Mariel later addressed the issue in a Facebook post, explaining the context of her remarks and stressing that the vlog had been recorded in 2022, when critics were questioning Padilla’s qualifications.

“Common sense is most uncommon,” Mariel began.

“Siyempre, you have to be a legislator to actually make and pass a law. That vlog was made in 2022, when critics were questioning Robin’s qualifications.”

She added: “Ang sinasabi nila, ‘Walang tinapos na pag-aaral. Marunong ba ’yan gumawa ng batas? Eh ’yan ang trabaho ng senador.’ So I corrected the point they were trying to make.”

With the old controversy still fresh in the public conversation, Vice’s “nakakapagpasa ng batas sa Bilibid” quip was enough to get the “It’s Showtime” studio roaring.