Indigenous plants from Southeast Asia, specifically those from the Philippines, remain underex-plored in terms of their essential oils (EOs) potential. The chemical composition of hydrodistilled leaf EOs from two indigenous EOs-bearing species, namely Litsea leytensis (Lauraceae) and Piper philippinum (Piperaceae), was described, using dual-column/dual-detector GC-MS analysis. When analysed using two columns differing in their polarity (HP-5MS/DB-WAX), L. leytensis EO had high amounts of caryophyllene oxide (15.70/16.76%) as the primary component, followed by β-caryophyllene (11.04/11.12%) and α-copaene (8.85/8.87%). Ishwarane (26.98/24.9%), nerolidol (10.14/10.42%) and 3-ishwarone (6.84/2.46%) were the most abundant constituents of P. philippinum EO. Additionally, the in vitro growth-inhibitory activity of the EOs in the liquid and vapor phases against Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated using the broth microdilution volatilization assay; however, both EOs had no anti-staphylococcal effect. This is the first study evaluating antibacterial activity and chemical composition of EOs from L. leytensis and P. philippinum. However, the iden-tification of potentially bioactive compounds in both EOs suggests further investigation of these species.