Linar-Mae Orbista

Linar specializes in traditional, nontraditional and emerging security issues. She tracks and analyzes developments, particularly those related to the Philippines’ internal security and energy security. Concurrently, Linar serves as a senior research associate for the Stratbase Group, where she focuses on external defense and cybersecurity.

Linar previously worked for the Philippine Center for Islam and Democracy (PCID), a nongovernmental organization dedicated to promoting peace and development in the southern Philippines. While working at PCID, Linar served as a part-time research assistant at the Ateneo Leong Institute for Global and Area Studies, Ateneo Institute of Philippine Culture, Human Security Advocates and the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections. In these roles, she was involved in several research projects covering voter registration costs, climate security and geopolitical risks.

Linar’s expertise has led to invitations to speak on various platforms domestically and internationally. Notably, she was invited to speak at the third ASEAN-U.S. Regional Workshop on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism in Bali, Indonesia. Linar is also a sitting member of the EU Youth Sounding Boarding, which advises the delegation on the design and implementation of development cooperation initiatives on the green economy, peace and security and good governance.

Linar has a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and international relations with a specialization in East and Southeast Asian Studies from Ateneo de Manila University, where she graduated summa cum laude.