As Philippines battles fuel crisis, will Marcos postpone Asean summit?

A fuel station worker prepares to refuel a jeepney, or local minibus, in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Wednesday.

Photo: EPA Philippine lawmakers have implored President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr to postpone this year’s Asean summit, as the country grapples with soaring fuel prices amid a global energy crisis.

Analysts warn, however, that such a move would undermine Manila’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Leaders in the Philippine Senate have backed calls to study the postponement option, originally proposed by ex-finance secretary Gary Teves to cut government spending and redirect funds towards cushioning the impact of skyrocketing fuel rates. “The times call for such a possible move,” Senate President Vicente Sotto III said on Monday, adding that Marcos could look into the measure.

In December, Congress approved 17.5 billion pesos (US$290 million) for the hosting of Asean events and other related meetings in 2026 after the Philippines took over the reins from Malaysia.

Manila has been hosting foreign ministers’ retreats since January, with the 48th Asean Leaders’ Summit set to take place in Cebu in May, while the 49th summit will occur in November.

Manila has been hosting Asean meetings, such as the Economic Ministers’ Retreat earlier this month, since January.

Photo: EPA Since the Iran war broke out in February, Manila has been among the hardest hit by surging fuel prices, with 90 per cent of its imported fuel sourced from the Middle East, according to a recent report by the ING Group.

Diesel prices in the country breached the three-digit mark for the first time earlier this month, as petrol stations manually improvised price displays on their two-digit screens.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Teves’ proposal “merits at least serious study and possible reconsideration”, after he raised the possibility of using the 17 billion budget for subsidies and other programmes that could help affected livelihood sectors and soften the blow of the Iran conflict on costs. “I think our Asean neighbours would understand,” Lacson said.

Senator Imee Marcos also proposed scaling down the summit if postponement was not possible, suggesting that officials could leverage the event by securing commitments from Asean members with oil resources – such as Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia – and explore opportunities with oil-producing countries like Russia and Iran. “If it would be embarrassing to postpone [the summit], we can proceed with the even

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