ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Recto convenes high-level meeting to prepare for PH hosting of ASEAN Summit

Recto convenes high-level meeting to prepare for PH hosting of ASEAN Summit

Published Jan 11, 2026 07:08 am
Photo: Office of the Executive Secretary (Facebook)
Photo: Office of the Executive Secretary (Facebook)
Executive Secretary Ralph Recto on Wednesday, Jan. 7, convened a high-level interagency meeting to ensure the Philippines’ readiness to host this year’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings.
Recto, who chairs the ASEAN National Organizing Council (NOC), led the meeting that tackled preparations across critical areas, including substantive planning, logistics, procurement, and agency-specific work plans for the country’s year-long hosting duties.
Among those present were Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
Also in attendance were Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Rolando Toledo, and Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez and senior officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Overseas Filipino Workers office, and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines were also present.
The Office of the Executive Secretary was represented by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Maria Luwalhati Dorotan Tiuseco and Undersecretary Leonardo Roy Cervantes, along with Undersecretary Hellen De La Vega, director-general for operations of the ASEAN NOC.

The Philippines is set to host the 48th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit and related meetings in Cebu on May 8 to 9.
This will be followed by the 49th ASEAN Summit and related summits scheduled for Nov. 10 to 12 at the newly renovated Philippine International Convention Center.
Ahead of the leaders’ meetings, Cebu will also host the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat from Jan. 25 to 29 and the ASEAN Tourism Forum from Jan. 26 to 30.
The Philippines will likewise lead commemorative activities for the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia on July 24 at the PICC. The treaty is a legally binding agreement that promotes peaceful coexistence, trust, and stability in the region and has been signed by at least 55 parties, including major global powers.
In total, the Philippines is expected to host 208 clustered ASEAN meetings or more than 650 meetings throughout the year, including working group- and ministerial-level engagements.
The ASEAN NOC said tight security measures will be enforced for all ASEAN-related meetings, particularly during the leaders’ summits in May and November.

Related Tags

ralph recto Executive Secretary Ralph Recto ASEAN
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.