MANILA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite repeated denials from Philippine government that there is no change of venue for the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be heldin December in Cebu, a presidential palace official admitted Thursday that a change of venue for the summit is under consideration by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

    A ranking palace official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the government might go for Plan B which would transfer the venue of the summit from the unfinished Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to a Shangri-La hotel.

    The source said this was discussed during the cabinet meeting in Malacanang last Tuesday.

    "This is what the cabinet have discussed because the construction of the CICC has not yet been completed," the official said.

    The official said under a worst-case scenario, the government will activate Plan C, which will move the meeting to Manila from Cebu. But it's too late as delegates have already booked and paid for their hotel accommodations in Cebu.

    ASEAN member-states, delegates and foreign media have expressed concern over the delay of completion of the convention center as meetings will formally start on Dec. 6 to be followed by the summit meetings from Dec. 10 to 13.

    Leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam will be joined by their counterparts from China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand for an East Asian regional summit meeting in the wake of the ASEAN summit.

    Other officials from Timor-Leste, France and the European Union will also be present in the meeting.

    The construction on the huge center, estimated to cost 800 million pesos (16 million U.S. dollars), which began in April, was originally scheduled to be completed this month.

    A police chief in charge of security for the summit meetings has first told foreign media that the venue of the summit will be transferred to Shangrila hotel from the unfinished CICC. But government officials maintained that meetings will still be held at the convention center.

    The publisher of local daily "The Philippine Star", Max Solliven, has criticized the local government of Cebu for hasting the construction of the convention center at the cost of safety while urging the government to transfer the venue of the summit to a safer place.