President Marcos on Friday said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains firm in its position regarding detained Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as regional leaders expressed growing frustration over the lack of progress in addressing the political crisis in Myanmar.

In a press conference in Cebu, the President said ASEAN continues to push for Suu Kyi to be allowed to exercise her rights and function as a political leader.

“That is one of the main aspects of our negotiation, if you want to call it, with the government of Myanmar—that she'd be freed and that she'd be allowed to exercise her rights, and that if she is recognized as a leader, that she'd be able to function as a leader,” he said.

“That certainly… That hasn't changed one iota,” he added.

When asked about Myanmar’s response to ASEAN’s request for the ASEAN envoy to meet Suu Kyi, Marcos said there had been no movement on the matter.

“We didn't move on that,” the President said.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former civilian leader of Myanmar, was detained after the military seized power in a coup in February 2021.

The coup overthrew her elected government and triggered widespread protests, armed resistance, and continuing violence across Myanmar.

Since then, ASEAN has struggled to implement its Five-Point Consensus peace plan, which calls for dialogue, an end to violence, humanitarian assistance, and mediation by a special ASEAN envoy.

However, regional leaders have repeatedly expressed frustration over Myanmar’s limited cooperation and the continuing conflict inside the country.

Suu Kyi remains one of the most prominent symbols of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement and is widely referred to internationally as “The Lady.”

President Marcos admitted that ASEAN leaders have become increasingly aware of the need to explore new approaches to move discussions on Myanmar forward after years of limited progress.

“We have to find other ways or something to move the thing forward,” he said, noting that the issue remains a “thorny” one.

The President likened the process to negotiations where even a slight adjustment in parameters could create significant movement.

“In negotiations, sometimes when you change, you move the parameters one millimeter; it makes all the difference,” he said.

According to the President, ASEAN leaders agreed to encourage member-states and foreign ministries to propose new ideas that could potentially help break the impasse.

“We said, let's share our ideas and let our Foreign Ministers talk about it,” Marcos said.

“And then we will see what of those ideas are actually actionable, are actually going to be effective, and we will try them,” he added.