Speech by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at the 4th ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit

Thank you, our Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

The Philippine Commission on Women Chairperson Ermelita Valdeavilla; Deputy Secretary-General for the ASEAN Political-Security Community Dato’ Astanah Abdul Aziz; the members of the Diplomatic Corps; Excellencies and Delegates of the 4th ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit; distinguished guests; ladies and gentlemen.

Good morning.

When I first saw that part of my day today would be to address you at this ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit, I immediately remarked that perhaps more appropriate would be the First Lady to come to this. I was immediately informed that she is, in fact, joining you later today.

So, in the tradition of — in true Philippine tradition and in the tradition of my family, you may just consider me the warm-up act for the main event. [laughter]

It is, of course, a profound honor to welcome you to Manila for the 4th ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit.

We gather at a pivotal moment in our region’s history. As ASEAN moves decisively towards its Community Vision 2045, we are called to ask a fundamental question: What kind of future are we building and who is building it with us?

The theme of this summit gives us a very clear answer. Women’s leadership is not optional to our regional agenda. It is the core driver of our security, resilience, and prosperity.

For decades, women across Southeast Asia have sustained our families, strengthened our communities, driven our economies, and yet their contributions have too often been undervalued.

That must change. Women are not simply beneficiaries of our progress. They are leaders and innovators, shaping ASEAN’s future and our policies, institutions and investments must reflect this.

For me, this commitment carries both profound national significance and deep personal meaning. As our Chairperson Valdeavilla explained, in 1967 under my father, the Philippines stood as the founding pillar of ASEAN represented by then Foreign Affairs Secretary Narciso Ramos, helping cast the vision for a unified, resilient Southeast Asia.

He firmly believed that no nation and no region could achieve true modernization if half of its population remained on the sideline. So, driven by this vision, he took a historic step during the 1975 International Women’s Year and established the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women. [applause]

This was the direct precursor to today’s Philippine Commission on Women, with my mother, then First Lady Imelda Marcos, as its founding chairperson. Under her stewardship, the Commission elevated women’s concerns from peripheral welfare issues to central drivers of national policy.

So today, as I stand before you, I carry forward that legacy, not merely as a tribute to our past, but as an active building, binding, mandate for our future.

What began as a pioneering national initiative in 1975 must continue to serve as a cornerstone for our shared regional aspirations towards ASEAN 2045.

Our work is far from complete. Women remain underrepresented in the Cabinets and Parliaments of ASEAN member-states. This is not simply a gap in representation, it is a gap in leadership in whose voices shape the decisions that affect our region.

So, we must act with greater purpose by building stronger leadership pipelines, advancing measures that open pathways to decision making, and establishing a regional network that connects, supports, and strengthens women leaders all across ASEAN.

If we are serious about inclusive prosperity, we must transform the economic landscape for women. In ASEAN, over 60 million MSMEs, the backbone of our domestic markets are owned or managed by women. Yet structural hurdles such as limited capital access and digital skill gaps continue to restrict their scale.

Under the Philippines’ Chairship, we are accelerating digital financial inclusion and ensuring market integration explicitly benefiting women-led enterprises. We must also acknowledge a long overlooked truth – no economy functions without the care economy.

Unpaid care work falls disproportionately on women, restricting their time and opportunity to lead in the formal workforce, especially in the so called non-traditional fields.

By investing in care infrastructure and redistributing care obligations, we do not just support women, we unlock billions of dollars in economic potential across our region.

Through the Women, Peace and Security Agenda, ASEAN recognizes women as vital actors in conflict prevention and community recovery. When women sit at the table, peace agreements are more durable and rebuilding is more inclusive.

As our region digitalizes, new threats have emerged. Gender-based violence now crosses into online spaces. We cannot speak of empowerment while our women and girls face harassment and abuse online.

The Philippines stands with ASEAN in building digital frameworks that keep this frontier a space of opportunity, not of oppression. Declarations and summits are certainly valuable, but action is our true currency.

To turn our shared vision into tangible impact, this summit’s Joint Ministerial Statement on Women’s Leadership for Inclusive Prosperity stands as our firm, unified compass. It charts a concrete roadmap across strategic sectors from climate action and technological innovation to economic participation and peace and security.

Our task now is to translate this Joint Statement into decisive policy. We must ensure that as we draft national development plans and regional frameworks towards ASEAN 2045, every law that we write, every initiative that we launch, every budget we approve is directly aligned with the strategic commitments that we have adopted today.

Excellencies,

Friends,

The story of Southeast Asia has always been a story of resilience. And at the heart of that resilience are the women of ASEAN.

Let this summit be remembered not merely for our hospitality or eloquence, but as a moment that we committed real resources, reformed real policies, and opened the doors for the millions of young women that are watching us today.

To our women leaders in governance, civil society, business, and technology: Keep leading, keep demanding space, keep pushing our region forward.

Together, let us shape an ASEAN where equality is not just a policy target, but a lived daily reality for every woman and child.

Maraming salamat. Mabuhay ang ASEAN. [applause]

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