President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is set to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to attend the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits from October 26 to 28, 2025, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Friday, October 24.

In a press briefing at the Palace, DFA Assistant Secretary Angelica Escalona said that the President will join other ASEAN leaders, dialogue partners, and international organizations at the invitation of Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who currently serves as the ASEAN chair.

“The summit is a mechanism for leaders to provide policy direction for ASEAN, build consensus on matters of mutual interest, and exchange views on key regional and international issues," Escalona said.

Marcos and other Southeast Asian Leaders are expected to attend 14 leaders-level meetings and witness three major signing ceremonies:

• The Declaration on the Admission of Timor-Leste as ASEAN’s 11th member;
• The Signing of the Second Protocol to Amend the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)
• The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) 3.0 Upgrade.

"In all these engagements, the President will advance Philippine interests in ASEAN by strengthening security and stability, enhancing economic cooperation, and broadening engagement with dialogue partners," she said.

Leaders are also expected to discuss pressing global and regional issues, including the situation in Myanmar, economic uncertainty, and other geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges that impact Southeast Asia and beyond.

The DFA noted that around 80 outcome documents are expected to be issued, adopted, or noted during the three-day event. Marcos is also expected to hold bilateral meetings with several counterparts on the sidelines of the summit.

During the summit, Malaysia will formally turn over its chairmanship of ASEAN to the Philippines.

“After the turnover ceremony, there will be a launch of the Philippines’ ASEAN chairship, and there will be a more detailed press briefing on it,” Escalona said.

“Building upon the success of previous ASEAN chairs, the Philippines will take this opportunity to introduce how we will steer the future of the region by galvanizing community-building efforts during our chairship," she said.

The DFA has yet to release detailed plans or the agenda for the Philippines’ ASEAN chairmanship in 2026.