Mariel Rodriguez pushed back Sunday against renewed criticism of a 2022 clip in which she said her husband had “passed a law” during his years at New Bilibid Prison, insisting the line was never meant to be read word for word.
Speaking in a video recorded on Samal Island, the wife of Sen. Robinhood Padilla said the original point concerned her husband being drawn into legislative discussions on amending a statute while he was still behind bars, not that he had authored legislation outright.
“Tinake ‘yan ng literally. Siyempre hindi ka naman makakapagpasa ng batas kung hindi ka senator, kung hindi ka legislator. Pero siya po kasi ‘yung case study niyan,” she said.
The measure in question, according to Padilla, was Presidential Decree No. 1866, which set harsh penalties for the illegal possession of firearms and explosives. He recounted that lawmakers held public hearings and spoke with detainees, himself among them, inside the prison. The amendment that followed, he said, trimmed the sentences of thousands serving time under the earlier version of the law, and it came to be called the “Robin Padilla Law” in casual reference. His time as an inmate, he added, gave legislators a clearer grasp of the problem.
Rodriguez traced the disputed clip back to Padilla’s 2022 Senate campaign, when detractors argued he lacked the credentials for the chamber. Her response then had cited his criminology degree, his military service, and his consultation during the Bilibid amendment talks as proof of his fitness for office.
She also turned the criticism around on those reading her words literally, asking who else lawmakers should have consulted on prison-related amendments if not the prisoners the changes would touch.
In the resurfaced footage, Rodriguez had argued that sincerity alone does not qualify anyone for the Senate, framing Padilla’s legislative involvement while incarcerated as evidence of a broader case for his candidacy.
