Here’s the response of Senator Chiz Escudero to the call of Senator Tito Sotto.
Senate President Chiz Escudero responds to the call of Senator Tito Sotto for mandatory drug testing among senators and employees.
Actress Nadia Montenegro was previously involved in an allegation of using “Mary Jane” inside the Senate premises. She is a staff member of Senator Robin Padilla, and a staffer from Senator Panfilo Lacson’s office was the one to notice the “unusual odor” coming from the ladies’ comfort room near the Senators’ extension offices.
Montenegro was effectively put on leave amid the investigation regarding the accusation, which she has since denied. Montenegro denied “Mary Jane” use and insisted that it was just a vape.
This incident has prompted Senator Tito Sotto to call for mandatory drug tests for all senators and employees of the upper chamber. The senator said he was requesting the testing because of news articles “regarding an alleged use of marijuana” at the Senate.
Senate President Chiz Escudero clapped back at this and expressed that he fully joins the initiative. He also informed the senator that the “Senate already has an intention to conduct the MRDT (mandatory random drug testing) for all the officials and employees of the Senate Proper and Senate Secretariat this 20th Congress.”
A letter was sent to Sotto’s office, and it was explained there memorandum of agreement with East Avenue Medical Center, National Reference Laboratory for Environmental Occupational Health, Toxicology, and Micro-nutrient Assay in March 2025 to facilitate the testing.
This was, however, cancelled due to the midterm polls. The Senate is in the process of finalizing the new MRDT policy order in coordination with the Medical and Dental Bureau, the Senate Legal Counsel, the Human Resources Management Service, and the Senate Committee on Mental Wellness.
“At present, we are waiting for the complete roster of Senate employees whose new appointments are still under process so that we can cover everyone. In the meantime, we shall furnish you and the other members of the Senate as well as the Employees Union and other employees association with a copy of the Draft Policy Order on Random Drug Testing at the soonest possible time for your information, reference, and suggestions,” he said.
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