BBM on reconciliation: No deals, just dialogue

When President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he was open to reconciling with his political foes, the response was mixed.

Some allies of former President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the gesture — but not without a catch. Their message? Bring Duterte home from The Hague.

But for Marcos, that’s not how it works.

“No, no, no, no, no, no. No. That’s not how reconciliation works. You don’t put conditions to reconcile,” the President told Palace reporters following the 46th ASEAN Summit.

He made it clear: True reconciliation requires sincerity, not ultimatums.

“If you’re sincere, you sit down and talk. What’s the problem? How did we get here? Let’s solve it,” he said. “But if you come in with a list of demands, that’s not reconciliation. That’s not even negotiation. That’s just demanding.”

He warned that attaching conditions only leads to a never-ending quid pro quo — one that derails any chance at genuine healing.

Asked how far he’s willing to go, Marcos said he’s open to fixing whatever he can.

“Put it this way: I don’t know what might come up, or what’s needed,” he said. “But if I truly want reconciliation, then everything you bring to the table — if I can fix it, I will, just to put this all behind us.”

At the heart of it, Marcos said, is his desire to move forward — to spend the remainder of his term governing, not fighting.

“I don’t want enemies,” he said. “I want to move on.”