MANILA, Philippines – Full pack ang schedule ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at ang kanyang delegasyon sa pagdating niya sa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia nitong Sabado, Oktubre 25 para sa 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit.
Ang Pangulo ay sinamahan nina First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, mga Cabinet secretaries at senior officials, kabilang sina Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Dave Gomez and Undersecretary Claire Castro, Trade Secretary Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, at Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian.
Sinalubong sila ni Dato’ Sri Azalina binti Othman Said, Minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform); Datuk Rozainor bin Ramli, Malaysian Government’s Chief of Ceremony; Dato’ Yubazlan Yusof, Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; at Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Maria Angela Ponce.
Bukod sa pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan at katatagan, isusulong din ng Pangulo ang mas mahigpit na economic cooperation sa rehiyon.
“As always, our participation in the ASEAN Summit reaffirms our dedication to deepening regional cooperation and to advancing the well-being of every Filipino and the entire Southeast Asian community,” sinabi ni Marcos sa kanyang departure message sa Villamor Air Base sa Pasay City.
“The strength of ASEAN depends in the individual strength and prosperity of its members. Thus, we are strengthening our bureaucracy, making it more responsive, accountable, and transparent in serving Filipino people,” dagdag pa niya.
Sa panayam, sinabi ni Ponce na si Marcos ay inaasahang magkakaroon ng “very full and substantive agenda” sa high-level gathering, at patuloy na isusulong ang interes ng Pilipinas sa rehiyon.
Kabilang sa highlight ng summit ay ang pagpirma ng Pangulo sa Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste sa ASEAN bilang ika-11 miyembro nito.
Sasaksihan din niya ang pagpirma sa Second Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement at ASEAN-China Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade.
Sa economic front, dadalo rin si Marcos sa 5th Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement Leaders’ Summit at magdaraos ng bilateral meetings sa mga counterpart nito sa sidelines.
“You know, the ASEAN Summit is an opportunity to have many leaders all together at once. And so to maximize the presence of the President here, as well as of having his counterparts here, he will be having quite a number of bilateral meetings as well,” ani Ponce.
Tatanggapin ng Pangulo ang ASEAN 2026 chairmanship sa turnover ceremony ng Malaysia sa pagtatapos ng summit sa Oktubre 28. RNT/JGC
