Actor Robin Padilla is joining the senatorial race in the 2022 elections as part of the PDP-Laban ticket that fielded Sen. Bong Go as vice president, the party said Tuesday.
Robin, along with his brother Rommel, took their oath earlier in the day as the newest members of PDP-Laban as they sought to enter politics in the upcoming polls. Rommel will run as representative of the first district of Nueva Ecija.
Robin is a known supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, whom he even campaigned for during the 2016 elections. He also backed Go's senatorial bid in the 2019 polls.
His name previously surfaced as among the senatorial candidates being considered by the President, along with broadcaster Raffy Tulfo and host Willie Revillame. Among them, only Tulfo has filed a candidacy for senator so far.
Robin was recently criticized online after he justified cheating when his daughter, Kylie Padilla, separated with her ex-husband Aljur Abrenica.
In 1994, he was convicted of illegal possession of firearms but was granted conditional pardon by former President Fidel Ramos in 1997. In 2016, Duterte gave him absolute pardon and reinstated his civil and political rights.