President Marcos stood firm on his opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, while pushing back against allies of the Duterte family who floated conditions for reconciliation.

Speaking to reporters following the 46th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the President reiterated that he did not initiate or support the impeachment complaint now set to go to trial at the Senate.

"How many times do I have to say that? I didn’t want impeachment," he said on Tuesday evening, May 27, noting that none of his allies in Congress filed the impeachment complaint.

"Yung mga nag-file ng impeachment complaint, hindi mo masasabing kaya kong utusan o pagsabihan na ito ‘yung gagawin mo (Those who filed the impeachment complaint are not people I can command or instruct on what to do)," he added.

While distancing himself from the impeachment proceedings, Marcos acknowledged that both the House of Representatives and the Senate would determine how to handle the case.

"I don’t think that they have made any decisions yet in that regard," he said.

"Mostly sa Senado, pero siyempre nandiyan pa rin ang House dahil sila mag-prosecute (Mostly it’s in the Senate now, but the House is still involved because they will serve as prosecutors)," he added.

Marcos likened the upcoming process to the 2012 impeachment of then-Chief Justice Renato Corona, during which he served as a senator.

"We were making rules as we went along. And I think that’s what will happen here, too," he said.

Vice President Duterte, who is currently in Qatar, is facing trial in the Senate following the House of Representatives’ approval of an impeachment complaint earlier this year. The complaint stems from allegations of misuse of confidential funds during her time as Education Secretary and her public statements perceived as threats against the President, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Despite calls from his allies for a political ceasefire, Marcos has maintained that the trial must follow its legal course and that he will not interfere in the proceedings.

Marcos also hit back at suggestions that reconciliation with the Duterte camp must come with conditions, after Senator Bong Go and other Duterte allies hinted at preconditions — including bringing back former president Rodrigo Duterte from the International Criminal Court (ICC) — before any unity talks could proceed.

"No, no, no, no, no. That’s not how reconciliation works. You don’t put conditions to reconcile," the President said.

"If you’re sincere, you want to reconcile, let’s sit in front of each other. Ano ba talaga ang problema? Paano nangyari ito? Tanggalin natin ang problema (What's the problem, how did it happen? Let's remove the problem)," he added.

The Chief Executive rejected the idea of using demands as a basis for political dialogue.

"Pero yung sasabihin mo, hindi ako makikipag-usap hanggang ibigay mo sa akin ito, ito, ito—eh walang pupuntahan ‘yan (But if you say you won’t talk unless I give you this and that, it will lead nowhere), he said.

"That’s not even a negotiation. That’s demanding," he added.

Marcos insisted that his openness to reconciliation is genuine and without preconditions.

"Kung talagang tapat ako na nais kong 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 (Whatever you say, if I can fix it, I will to get this over with)," he said.

"Ayoko nga ng kaaway (I don't want enemies)," he said.

President Marcos first expressed his openness to reconcile with all political rivals, including the Dutertes, in his first podcast episode.