The last few weeks will mark the beginning of what I am sure will be a busy year for me. It will be the culmination of a year of expectant excitement building up since last year: the transition of the chairship of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) from Malaysia to the Philippines. The first of the many activities we will have for the year will begin in the next few days.

I will be in Malacañang this week to attend the ceremonial handover of the chairship. Malaysia’s ASEAN-BAC will be represented by Air Asia’s Tony Fernandes, and there to witness the handover will be President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. With him, as always, will be our hardworking First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos. The First Couple has so graciously lent their support once again to ASEAN-BAC Philippines, something we in the private sector truly appreciate.

Four strategic pillars form the foundation of our efforts, guide our programs and drive conversation: People, Planet, Platform and Productivity. We shall develop the potential of our MSMEs, youth, women and human capital under our “People” pillar. We will aim to achieve sustainable agriculture, a circular economy and green transition under our “Planet” pillar. Digital transformation, AI integration, trade and investment facilitation and connectivity will fall under our “Platform” pillar, and we will scale up our creative economy, tourism and industry competitiveness under the “Productivity” pillar.

Of course, world leaders are expected to descend on Manila for these meetings and summits. The last time we held something like this was in 2017, when then-US President Donald J. Trump was in attendance, as was India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As one would expect, there is a lot of talk about President Trump’s attendance now that he is back in the White House. I am sure everyone is waiting with bated breath as to what will transpire during the world leaders’ meetings in ASEAN this year.

2026 will be an opportunity to showcase the Philippines’ capability to host a high-profile event. I have high hopes about our events in Okada Manila, where our guests will have the best meeting space in the glass dome events space of the hotel. With hope, we can convince Bruno Mars to join the other top international Filipino performers we have invited to provide the entertainment for the events. Our Filipino talent pool – and that includes the world-class service in the hospitality space – is among the best in the world. I am sure they will shine through as we host all these international dignitaries and big shots.

But let me point out other historic highlights as the Philippines hosts the ASEAN. First, it will be the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, ASEAN’s first legally binding treaty, a code of conduct for inter-state relations and a guide to regional stability. As the 50th anniversary falls on the chairship year of the Philippines, I will not be surprised if landmark decisions will be on the table now that peace and security is one of the three focus areas, the other two being prosperity and people empowerment. It will also be the first year of the official membership of Timor-Leste as the 11th member-state of ASEAN.

This year will also mark the start of Go Negosyo’s Trabaho@Negosyo, our effort to scale up MSMEs, with an emphasis on its direct correlation with jobs creation. MSME development will be a recurrent theme in my chairship agenda, even as work continues in Go Negosyo; I have always asserted that MSMEs are a major contributor to the development of not just the local, but also the regional, economy.

2026 will also be the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-BAC. Before it was established in 2001, my father, Jose “Joecon” Concepcion Jr., led the voices that advocated for business cooperation among the members of ASEAN. He believed that cooperation and complementation among ASEAN industries would sustain a unified ASEAN economic bloc, with private sector providing the impetus to keep the teamwork going.

Dad’s time as the Philippines’ secretary of trade and industry from 1986 to 1991 put him in the right place at a time when the Philippines enjoyed a favorable profile in the international community because of the People Power Revolution of 1986. President Cory Aquino hosted the Third ASEAN Summit in Manila in 1987, the first significant gathering of ASEAN leaders in over a decade. While economic cooperation was foremost on the agenda, private sector input was through the ASEAN Chambers of Commerce and Industry. I continued his work when I became chair of ASEAN-BAC in 2017, under president Rodrigo Duterte. Before that, I already got my feet wet when president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed me as Presidential Consultant on Entrepreneurship in 2005, the same year I founded Go Negosyo. It’s work I will gladly carry on this year.