Chapter 4 Central Luzon

History of Central Luzon:

Central Luzon (or Gitnang Luzon in Filipino), also known as Region III (or Region 3), is an administrative division or region of the Republic of the Philippines, primarily serve to organize the 7 provinces of the vast central plain of the island of Luzon (the largest island), for administrative convenience. The region contains the largest plain in the country and produces most of the country's rice supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Granary of the Philippines". Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

Central Luzon Region or also known as Region III is located north of Manila, the nation's capital. Bordering the region are the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley regions to the north;National Capital Region and CALABARZON to the south; and of waters of Manila Bay to the south; South China Sea to the west; and The Philippine Sea to the east.

Central Luzon lies at the heart of Luzon. It has the largest contiguous lowland in the Philippine Archipelago. Its total mass of 1.8 million or 18,230 square meters is 7.1 percent of the total land area of the country.

The prevailing landforms in the region define a large basin surrounded by mountain ranges on three sides. On its northern boundery, the Caraballo and Sierra Madre mountains separate it from the provinces of Pangasinan and Nueva Viscaya. The Sierra Madre mountain range traverses the length of Aurora, Nueva Ecija and Bulacan in the eastern section. At the western side, the Zambales mountains seperates the central plains from the urban areas of Zamabales.

Central Luzon is composed of 7 provinces, namely: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales. Aurora Province was transferred from Region IV to Region III in 2003 through Executive Order 103 on 17 May 2002.  There are 13 cities which include: Balanga in Bataan; Malolos, Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; Cabanatuan, Gapan, Science City of Muñoz, Palayan and San Jose in Nueva Ecija; Angelesand San Fernando in Pampanga; Tarlac City in Tarlac; and Olongapo in Zambales. There are 20 congressional districts, 117 municipalities and 3,102 barangays.  The City of San Fernando, Pampanga is the regional center of Central Luzon.   Angeles and Olongapo are the region’s higly urbanized cities.

Central Luzon essentially serves as a vital link between the huge market in NCR and the resource-rich north Luzon. The major roads to the rest of North Luzon converge in Bulacan before entering Metro Manila.

Central Luzon is a major contributor to the Philippine economy. Over the past years, the region has been figuring prominently in the country’s movement towards NIC-hood, both in terms of economic (as Newly Industrializing Nation) and nutrition improvement (Nutritionally Improved Country). It possesses more than fair potentials to compete internationally in this part of Asia Pacific, as globalization continues to be the direction of national economies in the next century.

Central Luzon contains the largest plain in the country with Its agricultural plains account about 40% of the region’s area. It produces most of the country's rice supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Bowl of the Philippines or Rice Granary of the Philippines". Excess rice is delivered and imported to other provinces of the Philippines.  Although rice is the major crop, its vast and fertile plains are highly suitable for growing almost all agricultural crops. It has longcoastlines rich with marine fishing grounds in Bataan, Zambales and Aurora. About 45 percent of the region’s area is devoted to forestlands. Gold, silver, chromite, limestone, marble, clay, sand and gravel abound in either Zambales of Bulacan.

As a player in national development, its current level of development allows it to significantly contribute to the growth of the national economy. Central Luzon is fast recovering from the calamities it continues to experience. Reconstruction and development programs and projects since 1991 have enabled Region III not only to rehabilitate, but also to turn the calamity into an opportunity to achieve something better.

Despite the Pinatubo disaster, Cental Luzon can still boast of internationally competitive investment areas and facilities such as Clark and Subic economic zones. These special economic zones have been instrumental in putting the country and region back into the map of international affairs.