MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s hope for a reconciliation with the Dutertes will only be possible if he brings former President Rodrigo Duterte back to the Philippines.
According to former Presidential Legal Counsel Atty. Salvador Panelo, it is not hard for the Chief Executive to bring Duterte back from The Hague in Netherlands.
“If he brings back the former President to the Philippines then there will be reconciliation. And it’s not very hard to do that. All he has to do is ask ICC (International Criminal Court) because his position at the very inception was there is no jurisdiction,” Panelo said.
“All he has to do is to tell the ICC that his people made a mistake in arresting, detaining and sending to jail the former president and he is correcting it by asking them to bring him back. And I think that will be a very important reconciliation gesture,” he added.
President Marcos said in a podcast interview with broadcaster Anthony Taberna that he is open to reconciling with the Dutertes.
“Oo. Ako, ayoko ng gulo. Gusto ko magkasundo sa lahat ng tao. Marami na akong kaaway. Hindi ko kailangan ng kaaway. Kailangan ko kaibigan,” President Marcos said.
He added: “Ang habol ko ay stability, peace, para magawa namin yung trabaho namin. Kaya ako lagi akong bukas sa ganyan. I’m always open to any approach na ‘halika magtulungan tayo,’” he added.
The President further said: “Kahit hindi tayo magkasundo sa polisiya…gawin ‘yung trabaho, huwag na tayo nanggugulo. Tanggalin natin yung gulo.”
Former President Duterte is currently under ICC’s custody in The Hague, Netherlands where he is facing charges of alleged crimes against humanity in connection with ICC probe into his ‘war on drugs’ campaign during his term./PN
