Bring Duterte home? Marcos says reconciliation can’t come with conditions 

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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says that while he does want to reconcile with the Dutertes, it should be a conversation, not a ‘demand’

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday, May 27, that reconciliation with the Dutertes shouldn’t come with conditions.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. No. That’s not how reconciliation works. You don’t put conditions to reconcile. When you want – if you’re sincere, you want to reconcile, let’s sit in front of… Ano ba talaga ang problema? Paano nangyari ito? Tanggalin natin ang problem (What’s the problem? How did this happen? Let’s eliminate the problem),” Marcos told reporters in Malaysia, where he attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.

“Pero ‘yung sasabihin mo, hindi ako makikipag-usap hanggang ibigay mo sa akin ito, ito, ito, ito, eh walang pupuntahan ‘yan. Tapos na, tapos na (But if you say, I won’t talk until you give me this, this, this, this, this, then this won’t go anywhere. The conversation is done). That’s not reconciliation,” he added.

Marcos, in the premier episode of what Malacañang has dubbed the “BBM Podcast,” said he was opening to reconciling with the Duterte clan and explained that he was after “stability.” Following that statement, Senator Bong Go, a long-time aide of former president Rodrigo Duterte, said the ex-president should return from The Hague first before any reconciliation talks.

Duterte has been detained in the International Criminal Court (ICC) since March, after the Marcos administration served an arrest warrant against him, issued through the International Criminal Police Organization or Interpol. The former president was then flown to The Hague and brought to an ICC facility, where he now faces charges related to his bloody drug war.

In the wake of Duterte’s arrest, Marcos has seen his trust and approval ratings drop, according to Pulse Asia’s polling. His administration’s performance on gut issues, particularly those related to the economy, has been wanting, according to the same surveys.

The Marcos and Duterte clans were once bound through an alliance dubbed 2022’s “Uniteam,” which also involved the country’s biggest political clans and parties. Marcos ran alongside the former president’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.

That alliance has since crumbled in a dramatic turn of events that included Vice President Duterte issuing a “conditional” threat against the President, the First Lady, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez. Months later, Vice President Duterte was impeached by a Romualdez-led House of Representatives with most members allied with Marcos. The impeachment trial is set to take place in the Senate by next week.

Marcos continued to distance himself from the impeachment on May 27 — reiterating a position he made back in February. “I didn’t want impeachment. Lahat ng kakampi ko sa Kongreso hindi nag-file ng impeachment complaint. ‘Yung mga nag-file ng impeachment complaint, hindi mo masasabing kaya kong utusan o pagsabihan na ito ‘yung gagawin mo. So, why do I have to keep explaining that I did not want impeachment?” he said.

(All of my allies in Congress did not file the impeachment complaint. You cannot say I can compel them to do something.)

While his closest allies did not file the impeachment complaint, several of them did sign it, including presidential son Ilocos Norte 1st District Representative Sandro Marcos and Romualdez himself.

Asked “how far [he was] willing to go” to reconcile with his former allies, Marcos said: “Put it this way. I don’t know. I don’t know what will come up. What’s needed… sinasabi ko nga, bukas ka eh. Kahit anong sabihin mo, pakikinggan ko…. Kung talagang tapat ako na nais kong maging – mag-reconcile, eh isipin ko lang, lahat nang hiningi mo, lahat ng hinanakit mo, eh kung kaya ko ayusin, ‘di ayusin ko para tapos na ‘to. Ayoko nga ng kaaway.”

(Like I said, I will be open to whatever they have to say. If I’m sincere about reconciliation, then whatever you ask, whatever grievances you have… well if I can fix it, then I will so it ends here. I do not want enemies.) – Rappler.com