ASEAN Goes Online First as Manila Trims the Pomp During Energy Crunch
The Philippines is moving most ASEAN preparatory meetings online after the country’s energy emergency reshaped how it plans to host the regional bloc this year. The shift means the many working-level, senior officials’, and ministerial meetings leading up to the summits will now happen virtually instead of requiring full physical hosting around the country.
Rappler reported that Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, who also chairs the ASEAN National Organizing Committee, ordered host agencies to notify their counterparts of the change. The big exception is the two leaders-level summits: one in Cebu in May 2026 and another in Manila in November 2026, which are still expected to be held in person.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already said the May summit will push through, but in a stripped-down format focused on the crisis fallout from hostilities in the Middle East. That means the agenda will lean heavily toward energy security, food security, and the condition of migrant workers—issues now hitting Southeast Asia in a very direct way.
The move also reflects reality: chairing ASEAN usually involves a long calendar of physical meetings, ceremonies, and logistics-heavy events. But with fuel pressure and broader economic uncertainty rising, the government is choosing a more practical route. Less pageantry, more tipid, and hopefully more room to focus on decisions that actually matter.
For Manila, the challenge now is to prove that going hybrid and lean will not weaken its chairmanship. If anything, the online shift shows how the regional agenda is being reshaped by real-world shocks. The test is whether ASEAN can still deliver useful coordination on energy, food, and labor concerns even with fewer in-person gatherings along the way.
Source: https://www.rappler.com/philippines/asean-shifts-meetings-online-energy-emergency/
