MALACAÑANG on Thursday said it is “all systems go” for the staging of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit and Related Summits this year despite the crisis the nation is facing.
In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro gave assurances that the first high-level meeting, the 48th Asean Leaders’ Summit and Related Meetings in Cebu on May 7 and 8, is all set.
“All systems go. We are ready,” she said in Filipino.
Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a recalibration of the Philippines’ hosting of Asean 2026, scaling down non-essential activities “in order to save on expenses and focus on the most important” amid the effects of the war in the Middle East.
While smaller engagements would be conducted virtually, the Leaders Summit would be face-to-face in a “very bare-bones” format.
Marcos earlier said he had consulted with fellow leaders, who agreed to push through with the summit.
The Palace earlier said 650 ministerial and senior official meetings that the Philippines was supposed to host would instead be conducted online.
Asean leaders are expected to join the Leaders’ Summit on May 7 to 8 in Cebu. Meanwhile, the Asean Summit and Related Meetings are set in Manila later this year.
