Malacañang asserted that no protocol was violated in selecting venues for the Philippines' hosting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related events.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that there was no breach of protocol as the venue—although a hotel-casino—was used for an international summit, and not for gambling.

This followed concerns from observers, saying that the recently-concluded ASEAN Ministers' Meeting in Cebu was held in a hotel-casino, which is considered inappropriate for Muslim delegates.

When asked how the government could rectify the selection, Castro said there is nothing to resolve over the venue selection.

"Unang-una po, there’s nothing to rectify dahil kung ito naman po ay hotel casino at ang nature ng event ay gagamitin po ito para sa isang international event like summit, hindi po para magsugal, wala naman pong nilalabag na protocol ang bansang Pilipinas (First of all, there is nothing to rectify, because if this is a hotel-casino and the nature of the event is that it will be used for an international event like a summit, not for gambling, then the Philippines has not violate any protocol)," Castro said in a Palace briefing.

"So, iba po kasi ang usapan kung pupunta doon para magsugal. Pero kapag ang hotel although may kasamang casino pero ang purpose po ay um-attend ng isang event, hindi po naman …wala pong nilalabag na anumang protocol ang Office of the President or ang administrasyon na ito (It’s a different matter if someone goes there to gamble. But if the hotel, although it has an attached casino, is being used for the purpose of attending an event, then there is no violation of any protocol by the Office of the President or by this administration)," Castro stressed.

The Palace official also gave an assurance that the procurement process for the country's hosting of ASEAN events this year is being closely monitored and evaluated.

"Patungkol po naman sa sinasabi nating procurement, ang proseso po na ito ay mahigpit po na tinututukan at kasama na rin po ang evaluation of cost at ang nature ng event (As for what we are saying about procurement, this process is being closely monitored and includes the evaluation of costs and the nature of the event)," Castro said.

"Pero ang katulad po nitong event ay masasabi po nating high-profile international events na karamihan po ay nagka-qualify po for exemptions from standard open competitive bidding, allowing for alternative procurement methods katulad ng negotiated procurement at direct contracting (But events like this that are considered high-profile international events, many of which qualify for exemptions from standard open competitive bidding, allowing for alternative procurement methods such as negotiated procurement and direct contracting)," Castro added.

President Marcos has recently led an inter-agency meeting at Malacañan Palace to review preparations for the country's ASEAN 2026 Chairship and to discuss steps to strengthen the call to deliver direct economic benefits to the sub-region.

The 2026 hosting will mark the country’s fourth time to host the ASEAN Summit. The Philippines last hosted the event in 2017.