Education Access Clash: Cebu City lawmakers urged Mayor Nestor Archival to lift the disqualification of mountain students from the city scholarship after rules barred learners who studied outside the city for lack of senior high strands locally. Local Governance: Councilor Mikel Rama’s findings push back on “just build more schools” thinking, pointing to housing, transport, and program access gaps that start in senior high and follow students into college. ASEAN Diplomacy: Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão used the 48th ASEAN Summit to spotlight three priorities—energy security and resilience, food security, and regional stability—while ASEAN also adopted the Cebu Protocol to amend its charter for the first time in nearly 20 years. People-to-People Regionalism: FPCI launched “ASEAN for People’s Week” to bring civil society, youth, media, and academics into the conversation. Timor-Leste–PNG Ties: PNG and Timor-Leste agreed to open reciprocal embassies as ocean conservation talks begin.