President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrived in Cebu on Wednesday evening to lead the country’s hosting of the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
The chief executive’s aircraft touched down at the Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base at approximately 9:14 p.m., ahead of pivotal discussions with Southeast Asian leaders under the Philippine chairship.
Conducted under a modified, scaled-down format, the Cebu summit complies with a directive from the President to optimize government spending amid global economic vulnerabilities linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the state secured substantial savings by shortening the event’s timeline and shifting numerous working-level and preparatory sessions to virtual spaces.
Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary and ASEAN 2026 spokesperson Dominic Xavier Imperial noted that preparatory assemblies, which were originally slated to commence earlier in the week, were trimmed down, with multiple dialogues successfully migrated to video conferencing platforms.
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, acting as chairperson of the ASEAN National Organizing Committee, similarly mandated a comprehensive recalibration of the hosting strategy. This operational pivot involved transferring roughly 650 meetings into online formats and dialing back non-essential activities.
Marcos previously stood firm against recommendations raised earlier this year to suspend the summit entirely, underscoring the absolute necessity of regional solidarity in navigating international crises.
The President reaffirmed that the Philippines’ priority agenda for the regional talks will focus heavily on food security, energy stability, and the welfare of migrant workers.
To ensure the seamless and secure execution of the international gathering, Malacañang has declared May 6 to 8 as special non-working holidays across the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu, as well as the municipality of Cordova.