Mara Cepeda

The Straits Times’ Philippines correspondent Mara Cepeda (left) in an interview with Philippines’ Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro in Manila on Jun 22.

‘Asean’s gift to the world’: Hormuz crisis sharpens Philippines’ push for South China Sea code

Finance professional Dayanara Lim is set to move into a smaller condominium unit amid high rental rates in Metro Manila, Philippines.

For millions of Filipinos, owning a home is a dream the market was never built to fulfil

Abhijit Chakraborty, who owns a tea stall in Kolkata, India, is worried that rising cooking gas prices could hurt his earnings.

‘I’ll be the one to lose’: Hawkers, drivers in Asia brace themselves for fuel shortage amid Iran war

Smoke rising after an Iranian drone was intercepted over the Bahrain Financial Harbour towers, which house the Israeli embassy, Mar 6., 2026.

‘I’ll do my job or someone else will take it’: Why many Asians are staying put in the Gulf amid war

The existing Malampaya gas field sits off the coast of Palawan within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, facing the contested South China Sea.

Malampaya’s new gas find may steady Philippines’ power supply, but cheaper bills remain elusive

AI has helped South-east Asians like (from left) Lim Yi Ping from Singapore, Jamras Inpuek from Thailand and Associate Professor Hasyiya Karimah Adli from Malaysia.

Asean is already economically divided. AI will make it worse