Mariel Padilla poses as she gets her IV drip at the Senate office with Sen. Robin Padilla sitting in the background. (Photo from her Instagram account / @marieltpadilla)
MANILA, Philippines — Both Senators Francis Tolentino and Ramon Revilla Jr. think it’s now time to leave the “vitamin C drip session” controversy behind.
Tolentino said he was not “privy” to any discussion on the matter, but he noted that Padilla and his wife – Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla – should be given the opportunity to explain what really happened.
The Padillas earlier drew flak after the actress shared a photo of her receiving her dose of “IV drip” at the Senate. They, however, have already apologized.
“For me? They already apologized, right? I don’t know. If they have already apologized, maybe maybe there’s nothing left to talk about,” Tolentino said in Filipino in a press conference on Monday.
“They’ve apologized. Let’s accept that. In the age of social media, things like that really spread fast. To me, maybe Senator Nancy [Binay] and Senator Robin [Padilla] should talk about what is acceptable.”
Binay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges, earlier expressed concern about the “vitamin C drip session” in the Senate. She noted the need to “look closely into it because it involves issues of conduct, integrity, and reputation of the Institution, and matters that concern health and safety.”
READ: Binay: Mariel Padilla’s IV drip involves Senate’s integrity, safety concerns
READ: Mariel Padilla says she’s ‘blessed’ to be with Robin amid gluta drip issue
READ: Mariel walang nakikitang mali sa viral IV drip session, nag-sorry
Tolentino emphasized, however, that asking forgiveness is a sign of humility.
“They have humbled themselves. They asked for forgiveness even though we don’t know if that was really wrong according to the norms or rules of the Senate,” Tolentino said.
“So their apologizing is a sign of humility. It should be accepted and reciprocated with an acceptance that said act will no longer be committed in the future. Case closed.”
In a separate press conference also on Monday, Revilla echoed Tolentino’s opinion on the issue.
“If you ask me personally, the person has already apologized. Why should we make a big deal out of it?” he said.
Revilla believed in the possibility that the Padillas were not aware that the incident would become a “big issue.”