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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'Avoid unnecessary expenditures': Leviste wants ASEAN Summit hosting budget cut by over 50%

'Avoid unnecessary expenditures': Leviste wants ASEAN Summit hosting budget cut by over 50%

Published Mar 26, 2026 02:21 pm

At A Glance

  • Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste is asking the national government to limit to ₱10 billion its expenditures for the Philippines' hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit this year.
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)
Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)


Batangas 1st district Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste is asking the national government to limit to ₱10 billion its expenditures for the Philippines' hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit this year.
Leviste said this move alone would generate savings of ₱12,895,734,000, which the Marcos administration could then use for "relief measures" amid the runaway prices of fuel.
The neophyte congressman made this serious belt-tightening pitch in House Resolution (HR) No. 911, which he electronically filed on Thursday morning, March 26.
President Marcos had earlier declared a state of national energy emergency in light of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the resulting risks to the country’s energy supply and price stability.
The resolution says Leviste is "respectfully urging" the Office of the President (OP) and other agencies to generate savings from the total ₱22,895,734,000 budget for the Philippine hosting of the ASEAN Summit 2026.
Leviste's HR No. 911 recognizes the importance of hosting ASEAN in terms of diplomacy, tourism, trade, investment, and regional influence, and therefore does not call for canceling the ASEAN Summit, but for hosting it in a more cost-efficient manner.
As such, it is prodding the OP, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Foreigr Affairs (DFA), and all other concerned agencies "to conduct an immediate review of the appropriations for the Philippine hosting and chairmanship of ASEAN 2026, and to adopt all feasible austerity and cost-efficiency measures that will allow the successful hosting of necessary meetings while avoiding unnecessary expenditures".
Leviste noted in his resolution that the Philippines was able to save funds from such events before.
"The Philippine hosting of the ASEAN Summits and related meetings in 2017 was reported to have been allocated ₱16.747 billion, of which only 51 percent or ₱8.572 billion was disbursed, demonstrating that significant savings may be generated in hosting a summit relative to its approved budget," read HR No. 911.
It added that the Philippine hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit of 2015 reportedly cost approximately ₱10 billion.
For additonal reference, the measure also cited public reports that indicated Malaysia spent approximately RM184.4 million (or around ₱2.62 billion) in hosting the 2025 ASEAN Summits and related meetings, and RM926.187 million (or around ₱14.03 billion) for its ASEAN 2025 chairmanship, which covered 326 meetings across the year.

Related Tags

ASEAN 2026 Leandro Legarda Leviste Fuel price crisis PBBM
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