Do we like Robin Padilla?
Our score: 5 out of 10. Real good on civil unions, divorce and Marawi relief sits against a fierce defence of Duterte and some clumsy, hurtful remarks.
Robin Padilla is the Filipino action star who turned senator and topped the 2022 vote, with more than 26 million Filipinos backing him, as a rival senator put it. He has leaned hard into the Duterte camp ever since. In 2026 he's been in the headlines about as often as he was in the 90s, just for different reasons.
The rough bit of his past: he had a 1990s illegal firearms case that ended in jail time, then an executive pardon from Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. That pardon is a big part of why his loyalty to Duterte runs so deep. It also tells you who he'll go in to bat for.
The worry is elsewhere. Padilla has filed a resolution defending Duterte from the ICC and joined protesters outside the Supreme Court in March 2026 pushing it to act on petitions over Duterte's transfer. He told Bato dela Rosa to never surrender to what he called the foreign power. Where you land depends on whether you read that as sovereignty or as shielding someone over a drug war with a heavy body count.
The recent mess: after Bato dela Rosa left the Senate in his vehicle in May, the police CIDG filed an obstruction of justice complaint against Padilla, which he denies. Separately, the Ombudsman said in July he hadn't answered an order; he says he filed his counter-affidavit. Both are unresolved, so treat them as allegations, not findings.
He's also had a year of foot-in-mouth moments. He drew flak in February for calling young people weak, and he later apologised. He earlier apologised for remarks on marital consent, saying they were hypothetical. He and Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela traded barbs in July over China messaging, and Angel Locsin published an open letter in July urging him to reflect on his stances, including on China and Apollo Quiboloy.
The good stuff is real. In 2017 he donated P5 million for children affected by the Marawi siege. He's also a long-time voice for Bangsamoro peace, and he's willing to say sorry when he's wrong.