Vice President Sara Duterte said she is not prioritizing reconciliation talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying public concerns are more important than “personal issues.”
“First of all, I don’t think I should speak about reconciliation for now because personal problems are not important,” she said in a press briefing on Saturday (Manila time) outside the Scheveningen Prison at The Hague where her father, the former President Rodrigo Duterte, is detained for trial for crimes against humanity.
The Vice President made the comment days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he does not need enemies and that he is always open to start reconciliation talks, but not with any preconditions or demands.
The Vice President also described her looming impeachment trial as a “crucifixion.”
“It’s a persecution, some sort of crucifixion. And when there’s crucifixion, there’s blood. So it’s a bloodbath – my bloodbath,” she said.
“I think many misunderstood the word ‘bloodbath.’ We have always said that the impeachment is a political persecution. It is the administration going after me, after I resigned from the Cabinet,” she added.
The presentation of the Articles of impeachment before the Senate has been rescheduled on June 11, or two days before the 19th Congress adjourns on June 13.
The Vice President said she welcomes the recent Social Weather Stations survey which showed that 88 percent of respondents said it was important for her to face the impeachment proceedings and answer the allegations.
