BENGALURU, India — The uneasy relationship between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte has drawn international attention, with reporters in India pressing Marcos about one of the most explosive issues back home —an alleged assassination plot against him.

Asked by Indian media outlet FirstPost about the threat made on his life, Marcos gave a measured, if hesitant, response.

“Uh, I don’t know, you know, but I am not really in a position to say what that’s about,” he said.

Marcos added that threats came with the territory for high-profile officials like himself.

“You have to be careful, but then in my position there’s always some kind of threat and we take them all very seriously,” he said.

In November, Vice President Duterte said she had contracted someone to kill Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and House Speaker Martin Romualdez if any harm were to come to her.

The statement was one of the issues raised in the impeachment complaints filed against her in the House of Representatives.

‘Observers for impeachment’

Marcos was also asked to clarify his stance on the impeachment trial of his former running mate. He maintained that the presidency remained on the sidelines of the process and denied exerting any influence in the matter.

“Well, I think that the political heat and all the noise has toned down, and that was in the buildup to the last election in May,” he said.

Still, Marcos acknowledged that his office remained deeply interested in the outcome, though it was not involved.

“I made it very clear that the executive and the president have a very little role to play in that process so we don’t… we’re of course an interested party, very interested observers. It doesn’t go beyond that,” he added.

Marcos and Duterte won by a landslide in the 2022 elections, securing more than 30 million votes. Subsequently, their partnership unraveled in full view of both the nation and the world.