Actress quits as Padilla’s staffer at Senate amid marijuana use allegations

National

ACTRESS Nadia Montenegro has resigned as one of the staff members of Sen. Robinhood Padilla.

Montenegro’s resignation came after she was accused of using marijuana in the Senate restoom.

In a letter addressed to the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), Montenegro denied accusations hurled against her.

“I vehemently deny that I am the staffer being alluded to in the news reports. I was never confronted by OSAA personnel for allegedly smoking marijuana, nor was there ever an incident of marijuana use in my presence,” she stated.

While admitting to have been carrying and using a vape, which she showed to Senate personnel, she stressed it was grape-flavored with no cannabis.

Montenegro added at the time of the incident, she used the restroom for persons with disabilities and not the women’s restroom where a marijuana odor was supposedly detected.

The actress also questioned why the incident was only reported in mid-August when it happed in July.

“How can a male staff member of a senator say I was the only one inside the ladies’ comfort room when he could not have been inside himself?” Montenegro asked.

Montenegro also urged the Senate to review CCTV footage to verify her account as she lamented that she was subjected to “trial by publicity.”

She added that the allegations have caused grave humiliation to her and her family.

“This is not an admission of guilt,” she wrote. “I am stepping down to protect my loved ones, my mental health and to avoid being a distraction to my principal.”(MyTVCebu)