Vice Ganda drew laughs on ‘It’s Showtime’ after making a pointed joke about Sen. Robin Padilla and the recently resurfaced remarks of his wife, Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla, about his supposed involvement in lawmaking while he was still incarcerated.
During the noontime show’s Saturday episode on August 15, Vice noticed co-host Vhong Navarro’s outfit and jokingly compared his look to Robin’s character in the 1991 movie ‘Maging Sino Ka Man,’ which also starred Sharon Cuneta.
“Hiniram mo pa ’yung costume ni Robin Padilla sa ‘Maging Sino Ka Man’ with Sharon Cuneta!” Vice quipped.
Vhong immediately played along and impersonated Robin, saying, “Aba siyempre tol, dapat ganun tayo!” before singing a portion of ‘Maging Sino Ka Man.’
The exchange prompted more banter among Vice, Vhong and Jhong Hilario, but it was Vice’s next remark that caught the audience’s attention.
“Ang galing,” Vice said. “Magaling talaga ’to, idol ko ’to eh, nakakapagpasa ’yan ng batas sa Bilibid.”
The joke drew laughter from Vice’s co-hosts and members of the studio audience.
Vice’s remark appeared to reference the recent controversy surrounding an old vlog by Mariel from 2022, when Robin was still campaigning for a Senate seat.
In the resurfaced video, Mariel defended her husband’s qualifications for public office and made remarks about his experience with laws while he was incarcerated. The clip recently went viral again and drew criticism and questions from netizens over how her statement should be interpreted.
Mariel subsequently issued a lengthy clarification, stressing that she did not mean Robin literally authored and passed legislation while behind bars.
“Common sense is most uncommon,” Mariel said.
“Siyempre, you have to be a legislator to actually make and pass a law. That vlog was made in 2022, when critics were questioning Robin’s qualifications. Ang sinasabi nila, ‘Walang tinapos na pag-aaral. Marunong ba ’yan gumawa ng batas? Eh ’yan ang trabaho ng senador.’”
Mariel also cited Republic Act No. 8294, a 1997 law dealing with illegal possession of firearms and related offenses, in explaining what she had meant.
“When Robin was in Bilibid, his case became closely associated with the issue that RA 8294 addressed—illegal possession of firearms. RA 8294 was enacted in 1997 while he was incarcerated,” she said.
“Now, IF gamitin natin ang talino na binigay sa atin ng Maykapal… sino kaya ang nag-draft at nagpasa ng bill na naging RA 8294?”
“Obviously, legislators,” she added.
Mariel emphasized that she was referring to Robin’s firsthand experience of how laws and changes in legislation could affect an individual, rather than claiming that he had exercised the powers of a legislator while incarcerated.
“That was exactly the point. Robin was NOT a senator then, and I never meant that he literally sat in Congress, authored the bill, and voted for its passage,” she said.
“His experience was being cited to show that even before becoming a senator, he had firsthand experience of how laws—and changes in laws—can directly affect a person’s life.”
“Context matters. Comprehension matters too,” she added.
Robin, who was elected to the Senate in 2022, later shared his wife’s explanation.
As of writing, neither Robin nor Mariel has publicly responded to Vice’s joke on ‘It’s Showtime.’
