Philippines Confirms 48th ASEAN Summit Will Proceed, But in Simplified Form

Manila - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has confirmed that the 48th ASEAN Summit in Cebu will still be held on 8-9 May 2026, albeit with significant simplification in its organisation due to the conflict in the Middle East.

When met by reporters in Silang City, Cavite Province, on Friday, Marcos said the decision was taken based on consultations with leaders in Southeast Asia.

“We have asked our partners in the other 10 ASEAN member countries, and the question was very simple: Do you – because everyone is busy with the oil crisis, because of the war in the Middle East – want to postpone the ASEAN Summit,” said the Philippine President.

“The consensus reached is that at this time we must coordinate joint efforts. So, this is what we will do, we will proceed with the ASEAN Summit,” Marcos added.

However, he said, the 48th ASEAN Summit will be conducted in a “very simple” manner, focusing on three main aspects: oil, food, and migrant labour.

According to the Philippine President, the upcoming ASEAN Summit will be important to help ASEAN leaders determine what can be done in the future, how ASEAN can help each other, and how ASEAN should take a stance on the dynamics that are occurring.

“We will discuss these three main issues – about oil supplies and oil products, about food supplies and food prices, and about migrant workers,” he said.

Furthermore, the 49th ASEAN Summit, to be held in Pasay City on 10-12 November 2026, will “tentatively” still proceed, given that the important agenda will be attended by world leaders, Marcos stated.

As the holder of the ASEAN chairmanship, the Philippines will hold up to 650 ministerial and senior official-level meetings this year.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Senate leadership had previously expressed support for postponing this year’s ASEAN Summit due to economic pressures from the Middle East war and soaring oil prices.

Such a postponement, if implemented, could potentially save more than 17 billion pesos (Rp4.7 trillion).

The Senate leadership proposed that the budget originally allocated for the ASEAN Summit be redirected to alleviate the economic impacts from the Middle East conflict.