Says he needs a friend, not more enemies

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he is open to reconciling with the Duterte family, saying he prefers peace and unity over political conflict.

In a podcast interview aired Monday, Mr. Marcos was asked directly if he still wished to make peace with the Dutertes despite recent political tensions.

“Do I still want to reconcile with the Dutertes? Yes,” the President said. “Me, I don’t like trouble. I want to get along with everyone. It’s better that way.”

“I already have many enemies, and I don’t need more. I need a friend,” he added.

Manila Standard tried to get a reaction from the camp of Vice President Sara Duterte but it has yet to issue a statement as of press time.

President Marcos said fostering stability and peace is essential for effective governance.

“As much as possible, what I’m after is stability, peace, so we can do our job,” he said.

“I’m always open to any approach. Let’s help each other, right? Even if we don’t agree on policy… Do your job, but let’s not cause trouble,” he added.

The President’s remarks come amid increasing political friction between allies of the administration and supporters of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Marcos and Duterte ran and won under the UniTeam Coalition in the 2022 elections.

The relationship between the two parties started to go south following allegations of misuse of state funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education which Duterte previously headed.

Mr. Marcos said as evidenced by the result of the recently-concluded midterm polls, Filipinos have grown tired of politicking.

“I have two conclusions from this election – First, Filipinos have become tired of politicking. Truly tired of politics. The message to us – not just to me but to all of us – is to stop politicking and attend to our needs,” he said.

“And they are correct. Public service is what we should really be doing. So, I am glad the election is not over. Let us now work.”

“The second one: people are disappointed with the service that the government provides. They do not feel the benefit of our programs as much as we want them to, and they feel the implementation of our projects has been too slow…The problem with big-ticket infrastructure projects, for example, is the slow implementation,” he said. With Rachelle Tonelada