President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday said he has not been responding to the lawsuits brought to retrieve his family's ill-gotten wealth during the term of his father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

During the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines’ presidential forum, Marcos said he is leaving the case to the lawyers to discuss issues regarding his family’s ill-gotten wealth.

"It’s hard for me to answer. I really haven’t looked at it in years. I advise talking to the lawyers," Marcos said.

The Supreme Court, in 2014, upheld the government's ownership of the $40 million Arelma funds which were deposited with Merrill Lynch Securities in New York in 1972.

These funds, initially valued at $2 million, were assets of Marcos Sr. deposited under the name of Arelma Foundation, a Panamanian company.

When discovered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government in 2000, the funds had increased to $35 million from their original value of $2 million.

Marcos then stood firm in his refusal to extend an apology for what his family has done in the past and brushing off the notion of issuing an apology as a responsibility.

"It's not a duty for a president to be involved in personal matters," Marcos said.

Despite being reminded of his familial ties to the Marcos legacy, the candidate emphasized the primacy of his role as a leader over that of a family member.

"As President, my focus is on serving the nation. My priority lies in the duties and responsibilities entrusted to me by the people," Marcos added.

Last March, Marcos Jr. refuted allegations of his father's embezzlement of billions in public funds throughout his twenty-year tenure.

In an interview with Australia-based ABC News, Marcos Jr. said the calls for the Marcos family to relinquish their unlawfully acquired wealth to the government were just mere "propaganda."

“I think that having seen the facts - as they have been slowly reviewed - with true investigation and not propaganda, actual investigation, court cases, investigations by all kinds of NGOs (non-government organizations) and agencies, that has changed. People can see that it was propaganda,” he said.