diff --git a/drivers/trustpager/__init__.py b/drivers/trustpager/__init__.py
index 6041f81..ba1fa38 100644
--- a/drivers/trustpager/__init__.py
+++ b/drivers/trustpager/__init__.py
@@ -69,6 +69,12 @@
 # path. (Removed a duplicate constant here per the Task 3 code-quality finding.)
 
 
+# Run every call next to TrustPager's database (Sydney). The API otherwise runs
+# in the region nearest the caller, and from the Philippines that was Singapore:
+# about 3.3 seconds a call against about 1.2 in Sydney, because every database
+# read crossed the sea (measured 2026-09-28).
+HOME_REGION_HEADERS = {"x-region": "ap-southeast-2"}
+
 # =============================================================================
 # The single TrustPager DriverConfig. Constructing it registers the tp_ secret
 # pattern with the redaction registry (DriverConfig.__post_init__).
@@ -79,6 +85,7 @@
     secret_pattern=TP_SECRET_PATTERN,
     error_map=TP_ERROR_MAP,
     approval_url=APPROVAL_URL,
+    extra_headers=HOME_REGION_HEADERS,
 )
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_trustpager_driver.py b/tests/test_trustpager_driver.py
index e4bf6d7..2b89bfe 100644
--- a/tests/test_trustpager_driver.py
+++ b/tests/test_trustpager_driver.py
@@ -97,5 +97,14 @@ def test_bare_prefix_not_redacted(self):
         self.assertEqual(redact(text), text)
 
 
+class TestHomeRegion(unittest.TestCase):
+    def test_every_call_asks_for_the_database_region(self):
+        # Without this header the API runs near the caller (Singapore from the
+        # Philippines) and each call takes about 3 seconds instead of 1.
+        from drivers.trustpager import TP_CFG
+
+        self.assertEqual((TP_CFG.extra_headers or {}).get("x-region"), "ap-southeast-2")
+
+
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()