Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco has announced ahead of the 2026 ASEAN leaders’ summit and related meetings in Manila, the Philippines supports efforts to establish a unified visa system among the regional group’s countries,
“As early as the very first ASEAN meeting that I attended as Tourism Secretary, I expressed the Philippines’ desire to benefit from a unified ASEAN visa,” Frasco told media briefing in Makati City on Thursday.
“But of course, this is entirely up to the agreements of the nations. We maintain our stance in terms of desiring an ASEAN visa without compromising national security,” noted Frasco who shared that other Southeast Asian countries also showed interest in a unified visa scheme, which is inspired by the European Schengen visa and the Gulf Cooperation Council’s joint visa.
The DOT Secretary said preparations are underway for the ASEAN summit hosting. “The Philippines’ hosting of the 2026 ASEAN summit will be a very big boost to tourism for the country. We are very excited that the very first ASEAN meetings will be about tourism, with the ASEAN Tourism Forum slated to be held at the end of January 2026,” she said.
