Nadia Montenegro takes leave of absence amid marijuana allegations, Robin Padilla’s office confirms

Nadia Montenegro did not resign from her post as Sen. Robin Padilla's political affairs officer, his chief of staff said. Instead, she was asked to take a leave of absence amid allegations that she smoked marijuana inside the Senate premises.

Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado said that Montenegro has been on leave since Aug. 13. 

This is after the actress was named in a Senate incident report filed by the Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms for allegedly smoking marijuana inside Senate premises.

Montenegro, per the report, was the only person in the area when one of Sen. Ping Lacson’s staffers noticed a strong odor resembling marijuana coming from the ladies’ restroom. The staffer informed security personnel Victor Patelo, who filed the incident report. When approached, Montenegro denied it but admitted having a vape, which she said might have caused the unusual odor.

The OSAA on Thursday submitted the report to Padilla, requesting the senator's "appropriate action."

Padilla requested an investigation, and Jurado, initially declining to name Montenegro, asked the alleged perpetrator to submit a written explanation within five days.

Jurado clarified that he did not go to the OSAA because Padilla was summoned; instead, he went there for their office's internal investigation. Staffers from both OSAA and Padilla's office, however, had no memory of the incident.

The OSAA said it will forward the report to Senate President Chiz Escudero.

It also announced that they will continue implementing random drug testing among Senate employees, which, Jurado assures, Padilla's office finds no issue with. He also asked Montenegro to do a drug test, though the actress is reportedly in talks with a lawyer.