Cebu Declares Full Readiness for 48th ASEAN Summit; PCG Raises Maritime Security Alert in Mactan Waters April 30–May 10; Hospitals Enter Code Blue as Cybersecurity Threats Flagged

As of April 30, 2026 — one week before the 48th ASEAN Leaders' Summit (May 7–8, Cebu) — Philippine authorities declared the host city at full readiness after reaching 90% preparedness in prior days. Key security measures activated April 30 include: (1) Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) raised its maritime security alert level in the waters of Mactan, Cebu, effective April 30 through May 10, deploying 92 personnel and 12 seaborne assets to protect the summit's coastal approach and delegate transit corridors; (2) Philippine Department of Health activated 'Code Blue' hospital readiness protocols from April 30 through May 12, placing 400 medical personnel on standby with full emergency response capacity; (3) Cebu provincial authorities placed all government information systems on heightened cybersecurity alert, with officials discussing possible communications signal restrictions during the summit period — the first such measure for an ASEAN summit hosted by the Philippines. The Philstar/Freeman reported that approximately 10,000 police (4,000+ from Central Visayas), 1,000+ AFP personnel, and 1,000+ Presidential Security Command (PSC) staff are deployed in the Cebu tri-city area (Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu). Around 20,000 total attendees are expected, including representatives of all 10 ASEAN member states. Delegates will begin arriving May 5, with airport upgrades — including a P39-million General Aviation facility upgrade at Mactan-Cebu International Airport — completed. The summit's security posture is heightened partly because Cebu is hosting the summit during an active security environment: Balikatan 2026 (April 20–May 8) is ongoing, PLA Southern Theater Command conducted combat readiness patrols at Scarborough Shoal on the same day (April 30), and the summit agenda includes the politically charged South China Sea Code of Conduct negotiations. ASEAN Chair Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim and Philippine DFA Secretary Lazaro are expected to make the COC a centerpiece deliverable. Myanmar's reintegration into ASEAN structures — complicated by Min Aung Hlaing's April 2026 presidential transition — remains the summit's most contested procedural question.