Nadia Montenegro named in Senate incident report; actress denies using marijuana

Actress Nadia Montenegro, a member of Sen. Robin Padilla's staff, has been named in the incident report by the Senate Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA) regarding the alleged use of marijuana inside the premises of the chamber.

Montenegro, according to the report, denied smoking inside the ladies' room and using marijuana.

Based on the report dated August 13, security personnel Victor Patelo noted two incidents involving “an unusual scent//odor allegedly emanating from the ladies’ comfort room near the Senators’ extension offices.”

First of which, Patelo said, happened around the second week of July 2025 when he was manning his post on the 5th floor of the Senate building. Patelo said that back then, he received a call from a local trunk line of his post from a male staff member who reported “a strong odor in their area.”

“I proceeded to their office, where most of the staff confirmed the unusual scent. I then inspected the surrounding areas but did not observe anyone smoking,” Patelo said in the report.

The second incident occurred on August 12 on the same floor where Patelo said he was informed of a male Senate employee who claimed to be from the office of Senator Ping Lacson of another “unusual odor” that came from the ladies' comfort room.

“He claimed the odor resembled that of ‘marijuana’ and stated that the only person in the area at the time was allegedly Ms. Nadia Montenegro,” the report read. 

Patelo said he approached Montenegro, who denied using marijuana, but admitted having a vape in her possession. 

“Ms. Montenegro denied smoking inside the ladies' comfort room or using marijuana for that matter, but acknowledged possessing a vape in her bag, which she said could have produced the unusual scent reported earlier by Senator Lacson's staff,” he added. 

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero and the office of Padilla have ordered an investigation into the alleged use of marijuana by a staff member inside the Senate premises. 

According to Senate Secretary Atty. Renato Bantug Jr., the OSAA already submitted its report on the incident as of Thursday, August 14, and a copy of which was given to Padilla’s office. 

Padilla’s chief of staff, Atty. Rudolf Philip Jurado confirmed that they received the OSAA report and said that the subject employee has been ordered to submit a written explanation within five days. –NB, GMA Integrated News