FULL TEXT: Marcos’ speech at 48th ASEAN Summit opening ceremony

CEBU, Philippines – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to work more closely as they face challenges brought by the Middle East conflict.

In his speech during the opening ceremony of the 48th ASEAN Summit in the province of Cebu on Friday, May 8, Marcos urged his fellow leaders to “respond with unity, with wisdom, with resolve, at a time when our region is once again faced with profound uncertainty.”

Read Marcos’ speech in full below.

Your Majesty,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Friends from across our ASEAN community,

Good morning.

It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the 48th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings here in the Philippines, Queen City of the South, Cebu. (Editor’s Note: The summit is taking place in Cebu province’s Lapu-Lapu City, not Cebu City.)

At the outset, allow me to convey my sincere appreciation for your presence at this important gathering.

I recognize that each delegation has traveled here despite demanding schedules and pressing responsibilities at home.

That you have chosen to be here reflects not only the urgency and significance of the occasion, but also our shared commitment to the enduring values that continue to bind our region together — dialogue, cooperation, and mutual respect.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is especially meaningful that we gather in this historic place. As a pre-colonial trading hub, the historic province of Cebu has served as a gateway to our beautiful country. Long before our modern borders existed, Cebu already stood as a crossroads of trade, ideas, and peoples.

Half a century ago, Cebu witnessed the birth of Philippine international connectivity, the introduction of a lasting spiritual and cultural heritage, and the beginnings of a major regional hub.

Twenty years ago, within these very grounds, leaders of our region signed the Cebu Declaration on the Blueprint of the ASEAN Charter which marked significant progress in transforming ASEAN’s cooperation framework into a stronger more coherent institutional architecture laying the essential groundwork for the eventual signing of the ASEAN Charter in 2007.

It is therefore a fitting place for our summit, providing us with a valuable opportunity to advance regional cooperation, economic resilience, and sustainability under the Philippine Chairship anchored on the theme, “Navigating Our Future, Together.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we once more find ourselves here in Cebu at a defining moment in our shared journey.

As we gather then for an important milestone, so do we stand together today to demonstrate ASEAN’s capacity to respond with unity, with wisdom, with resolve, at a time when our region is once again faced with profound uncertainty.

For we meet at a time of considerable challenge. Across our region and beyond, nations continue to navigate an increasingly complex global environment.

The increasingly volatile situation in the Middle East has impacted our region, challenging us to remain agile in the face of uncertainties which threaten lifestyles, livelihoods, and lives.

Many of our countrymen continue to look to us, their leaders, not only for stability, but for reassurance and for hope.

Over the past months, each of our countries has had to make adjustments to modify our approaches. So we come together now to study those adjustments, to find the best approaches, to face the future, together.

For the Philippines, we made the difficult decision to recalibrate our ASEAN Chairship hosting in response to the Middle East conflict through the scaling down of non-essential activities and shifting of applicable meetings from physical to virtual platforms.

Despite the said calibration, we strive to remain responsive to the needs of our ASEAN community and focus on fulfilling our Chairship goals.

The work of ASEAN must continue, not despite the challenges, but because the times demand our answers to those challenges for our peoples, for our countries, for ASEAN.

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My appreciation extends to ASEAN and our partners in ASEAN, because despite facing deep challenges of your own, you have come to support us and to work with us to respond to this crisis.

We have strengthened our coordination where possible. Our foreign, economic, agriculture, and energy ministers have met to lay out plans with their sectors.

Joint meetings between the Political Security and Economic pillars were held to align our responses. We have all done what we can, individually and collectively, to ensure that even amidst uncertainty, the work of building our ASEAN community continues.

Ladies and gentlemen, our theme of Navigating Our Future, Together has always held true for ASEAN. But now, more than ever, it is a principle that we must continue to share; an idea we must continue to embrace.

If there is one lesson ASEAN has learned over the decades, it is that difficult times do not divide us.

For ASEAN, challenges present us with opportunities that have further strengthened our resolve to work more closely, to listen more carefully, and to act more purposefully.

This summit gathering is evidence of that commitment. It reflects our shared understanding that especially in moments of difficulty, engagement remains essential. That when circumstances are challenging, partnership is more than ever indispensable. And that even when the future appears uncertain, hope remains the responsibility of leadership.

It is in that spirit that I warmly welcome all of you, reminded of the significance of our gathering. For ASEAN has always drawn its strength not from uniformity, but from unity.

So as we begin our work today, let our discussions be guided by wisdom, openness, and our enduring commitment to one another.

Aligned with the Philippines’ three Ps: Peace and Security Anchors, Prosperity Corridors, and People Empowerment, our discussions today will chart our course as we navigate our future together.

Once again, I thank you for your presence and welcome you to the 48th ASEAN Summit.

Mabuhay at maraming salamat.

– Rappler.com