In the Philippines, politics can often feel like theatre. But few senators embody the blurring of screen and state as fully as Robinhood Ferdinand Carino Padilla, an ex-action star whose time in office has been marked by spectacle, scandal and slapstick.
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The 55-year-old, once nicknamed Philippine cinema’s “bad boy”, swept into the Senate in the 2022 elections despite a past conviction for illegal firearms. While his rise was improbable, his tenure has often felt surreal.
Padilla’s time in public office has unfolded much like the plots of the films that made him famous: chaotic, dramatic and at times absurd.
The latest drama began to unfold on Tuesday last week, when a member of Senate staff reported a smell “resembling” marijuana drifting from a bathroom in the upper chamber. The only person seen nearby was Padilla’s political officer, former actress Nadia Montenegro.
Montenegro denied smoking cannabis but admitted she had been carrying a vape device that might have produced the odour. Her office placed her on leave the following day. On Monday, she resigned, insisting the move was not an admission of guilt.
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