Senator Ronald Dela Rosa on Tuesday said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. must show “extreme sincerity” if he truly intends to reconcile with the Duterte family.
“Because of the depth of the wounds they inflicted on us, I think what’s really needed is ‘extreme sincerity.’ Not just something superficial, because as I’ve said, we’ve already had experience with him,” the re-electionist senator said via phone patch.
Dela Rosa claimed Marcos had assured him that the government would not cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), a promise he believes was broken.
He pointed to the arrest of former President Rodrigo Duterte on March 11 upon his arrival from Hong Kong as a violation of that assurance.
“No one really wants to be in conflict forever. We all want peace, to live quietly and peacefully, and to focus on the good of our country,” he said.
Senator Robin Padilla, for his part, emphasized the importance of good faith in peace negotiations.
“In every peace negotiation, exploratory talks are always the beginning, and the biggest question from the aggrieved party starts with: ‘What is the goodwill offer?” he said.
President Marcos expressed his openness to reconciling with the Dutertes in a podcast episode aired Monday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada welcomed the gesture, calling it a sign that Marcos wants to move beyond political conflict.
“By expressing his desire to reconcile with the Dutertes, the President demonstrates his intent to rise above political bickering and focus on national healing and progress,” he said.
He renewed his call for unity between the country’s top leaders, stressing that reconciliation is necessary for national progress.
Estrada maintained his opposition to any impeachment effort, warning that it would only deepen political divisions.
“But as duly elected members of the Senate, we are mandated by the Constitution to act on any impeachment complaint. The Filipino people deserve nothing less than a Senate that upholds integrity, objectivity, and respect for due process,” he said.