Palace defends P22.9-billion budget for 2026 ASEAN Summit

(L-R) Myanmar's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs U Hau Khan Sum, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, East Timor's Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, Vietnam's Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto, Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet and Laos’ Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone pose for a group photo during the opening ceremony of the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Cebu, central Philippines on May 8, 2026.

AFP / Aaron Favila / pool

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday, November 12, defended the P22.9-billion budget for the 2026 ASEAN Summit, saying critics should focus on what the government has achieved rather than what it has spent.

The allotment, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro explained, includes expenditures for the 48th ASEAN Summit held in Cebu in May 2026. The Philippines hosted the summit after Myanmar was skipped in the ASEAN chairmanship rotation due to the country's ongoing civil war.

Preparations for the 49th ASEAN Summit, meanwhile, include infrastructure improvements to the Philippine International Convention Center and World Trade Center in Pasay City, which will serve as the main venues for the event.

Renovations were also made to the Coconut Palace, a building located in the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex that was used as a guesthouse for prominent visitors during the term of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

In terms of security, almost 20,000 police officers will be deployed across venues, hotels and motorcade routes during the event, along with additional personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The 48th and 49th ASEAN Summits have brought around 550 policy meetings and working sessions to the Philippines, 393 of which have been completed.

The 2017 summit, Castro pointed out, had only 279.

Castro added that the government is ready to have summit expenses audited and to report how the budget was used.

Every peso spent, she said, is an investment in the country and in Filipino workers.

Labor group Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa previously questioned the summit's toll on workers after various vendors were temporarily ordered to close to make way for the event.

Cash assistance was extended to 84 vendors in Pasay City and around 1,500 vendors in Parañaque City.