Malacañang has once again distanced itself from the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, saying President Marcos will not intervene in the ongoing debates about it.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro reiterated that Marcos leaves the matter to the Senate.

"Unang una po, sinabi naman po ng Pangulo na ito po ay nasa kamay na po ng Senado at hindi po makikialam ang Pangulo kung ano man po ang nangyayaring pagdedebate sa Senado (First of all, the President already said this is already in the hands of the Senate and that he will not interfere in whatever debates are happening there)," Castro said in a Palace briefing on Wednesday, June 4.

"Pero kung ano po ang idea ng Pangulo patungkol dito. Una po, maliwanag na sinabi ng Pangulo na impeach na po si VP Sara kaya po hindi niya po ito papakialaman, wala po siyang anumang gagawin dahil lahat po ng mangyayari ay nasa Senado na (As for the President’s view—he made it clear that Vice President Sara has already been impeached. That’s why he will not interfere; he will not do anything because it is all now in the hands of the Senate)," she added.

Castro stressed that while Marcos' stance on the impeachment remains, the President affirms that due process must be followed and the law must be upheld.

"Ang gusto lamang po niya, para sa kalahatan, hindi lamang po para sa impeachment, dapat lang po manatili ang due process, manatili ang proseso. Kung ang proseso po ay kasama po dito ang pagtugon at pagtupad ng mga probisyon ng Constitution, dapat sundin kung ano nasa Constitution, kung ano ang nasa batas, at kung ano ang rule of law (What he wants, in general—not just for this impeachment—is for due process to be followed. The proper legal procedures must be upheld. If the Constitution lays down certain steps, then those must be followed, as must the law and the rule of law)," Castro pointed out.

Whether or not the impeachment trial pushes through, it is no longer within the President's control.

She emphasized that whatever the outcome would be, it should not be blamed on the President.

"Kung matuloy po, hindi matuloy ang impeachment, mukhang hindi na po 'yan sakop ng Pangulo (Whether or not the impeachment goes forward is no longer within the President’s control)," Castro said.

"Ang gusto lang naming iparating: sana po ay huwag ipahid sa Pangulo kung ano man po ang magiging desisyon ng Senado diyan. Kasi po marami po tayong nakikita, katulad po ng mga protesters, ginagalang po natin ang kanilang opinion at mga ginagawa, protesters na gustong ipatuloy ang impeachment trial. Sana po ay iwaksi nila sa kanilang isipan na may kinalaman po ang Pangulo dito dahil yan po ay solely the responsibility of the Senate. Nasa kamay na po ng Senado kung ano po ang gagawin nila dito patungkol sa impeachment proceedings (We just want to make it clear: please don’t blame the President for whatever the Senate decides. Because we’ve seen, for instance, protesters expressing their views and wanting the impeachment trial to proceed—we respect their opinions. But we ask that they stop assuming that the President is involved in this because this is solely the responsibility of the Senate. It’s now fully in the hands of the Senate)," she stressed.

The Palace official also branded as "intrigues" the suspicions Marcos was sending signals that he does not want the impeachment trial to push through because he is protecting something.

"Intriga po, iwasan po 'yan, considering na siya ay isang mambabatas (That’s pure intrigue. That should be avoided—especially by someone who is a lawmaker)," Castro said, referring to the statement of Representative Raoul Manuel.

Castro stressed that it is not true that the President said he was against the impeachment process.

"Maliwanag po nung tinanong ito sa Kuala Lumpur, ayaw niya po ng impeachment but the problem is VP Sara is already impeached, so magiging issue na lang dito ay acquittal ba o conviction sa Senado. So dapat i- correct po natin yan, sinabi rin po ng Pangulo na let the process take its course (When he was asked in Kuala Lumpur, the President said he didn’t want an impeachment—but the issue is, VP Sara has already been impeached. So now, it’s just a matter of whether she will be acquitted or convicted in the Senate. So, that must be corrected. The President also said: let the process take its course)," Castro said.