INDONESIAN President Prabowo Subianto lands at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Thursday, May 7, for the 48th ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Lapu-Lapu City. (PCO Pooled Media Photo)
LAPU-LAPU CITY – With heads of state arriving one after another, the 48th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders’ Summit went full swing here on Thursday, May 7.
As of 5 p.m. on Thursday, 10 of the 11 heads of member states have flown in for a series of high-level meetings.
Amid the heightened security, police have enforced lockdowns, closing some major roads in this city to traffic at certain hours to ensure smooth passage of convoys carrying heads of state.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. arrived in Lapu-Lapu on Wednesday night, May 6.
Among those who welcomed the President was Cebu Gov. Pamela Baricuatro.
Baricuatro said Cebu’s hosting of the summit is off to a good start with everything going smoothly.
“So far, so good. The roads are quiet,” Baricuatro said on Wednesday, May 7.
Baricuatro thanked Cebuanos for cooperating with traffic advisories and security measures.
“Our roads are clean now and there is no traffic. Thank you very much to everyone who followed our call,” the governor said.
Baricuatro appealed for continued cooperation, emphasizing that hosting the summit will lead to future tourism and investment opportunities.
She said the international undertaking is not just about hosting, saying the province stands to benefit from the successful hosting of the summit.
The summit has attracted more than 3,000 delegates from ASEAN member-states and partner countries, including heads of state, ministers, diplomats, and business leaders.
“It’s not enough that ASEAN is here. What’s important is that they come back. We want them to come back and invest here in Cebu,” Baricuatro said.
Among the high-level meetings were the ASEAN-EU Sustainability Summit, ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the 31st ASEAN Political-Security Community Council Meeting, the 38th ASEAN Coordinating Council Meeting, and the ASEAN Joint Foreign and Economic Ministers’ Meeting.