DOT says confirming if PH hosting 2026 ASEAN tourism forum instead of Myanmar

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DOT says confirming if PH hosting 2026 ASEAN tourism forum instead of Myanmar

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

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MANILA - The Department of Tourism said it is still waiting for official confirmation that the Philippines will host the Association of South East Asian Nations  (ASEAN) Tourism Forum in 2026.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco told the Senate that the agency is still waiting for the official communication before they prepare for the event. The event was originally supposed to be hosted by Myanmar, which is still in the middle of a bloody civil war. 

Frasco said this is why the DOT has yet to make provisions in the 2025 budget to fund preparations for the hosting.

"The Philippines will indeed be hosting the ASEAN Summit in 2026 by virtue of Myanmar's non-hosting. But pertaining to the ministerial meetings and related fora such as the ASEAN Tourism Forum, it is done by country and so there needs to be an official communication from the supposed host for 2026 which should have been Myanmar to the ASEAN Secretariat to state for the record that they are refusing the hosting of the ASEAN Tourism Forum," Frasco said

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Frasco explained to Senator Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Finance, that the agency needs funds in 2025 even if the hosting is scheduled in 2026. The Tourism chief also said the government has already formally expressed interest to host.

Legarda, who is sponsoring the DOT budget during the upcoming plenary deliberations in the Senate on the 2025 budget, said that no line item can be made in the budget till the official confirmation is given.

The Philippines agreed to host the 2026 ASEAN Summit after Myanmar, the original host, backed out.



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