Central Luzon ( pam, (Reyun ning) Kalibudtarang Luzon, pag, (Rehiyon na) Pegley na Luzon, tgl, (Rehiyon ng) Gitnang Luzon, ilo, (Rehion/Deppaar ti) Tengnga ti Luzon), designated as Region III, is an

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, primarily serving to organize the 7 provinces of the vast central plains of the island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

(the largest island), for administrative convenience. The region contains the largest

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

in the country and produces most of the country's

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Granary of the Philippines". Its provinces are:

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( tgl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Ecija , also ; ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Ecija; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Ecija; Kapampangan: ''Lalawigan/Probinsia ning Nueva Ecija''), is a landlocked province i ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac ( pam, Lalawigan ning Tarlac; pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Tarlac; ilo, Probinsia ti Tarlac; tgl, Lalawigan ng Tarlac; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. It ...

and

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...

was formerly a province of Central Luzon before President Marcos signed ''Presidential Decree No. 1'', 1972, incorporating it into

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

. Additionally, the province of Aurora was part of the defunct political region

Southern Tagalog Southern Tagalog ( fil, Timog Katagalugan, also known colloquially as ''Rehiyong Timog Tagalog''), designated as Region IV, was an administrative region in the Philippines that comprised the current regions of Calabarzon and Mimaropa, the provi ...

when the region was divided into

Calabarzon Calabarzon (), formally known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland, is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IV-A. The region comprises five provinces: Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal; and one highly urban ...

and

Mimaropa Mimaropa (usually capitalized in official government documents), formally known as the Southwestern Tagalog Region, is an administrative region in the Philippines. It was also formerly but still colloquially designated as Region IV-B until 2016 ...

, upon the issuance of ''

Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

No. 103'', dated May 17, 2002, by then-President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

, which transferred Aurora to Central Luzon.

Etymology

The current name of the region refers to its position on the island of

. The term was coined by American colonialists after the defeat of the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic ( es, República Filipina), now officially known as the First Philippine Republic, also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was established in Malolos, Bulacan during the Philippine Revolution against ...

. There have been proposals to rename the current Central Luzon region into the Luzones region. The proposed name is in reference to the old name of Luzon island,

Luções Luzones ( pt, Luções, ; also ''Luzones'' in Spanish) was a demonym used by Portuguese sailors in Malaysia during the early 1500s, referring to the Kapampangan and Tagalog people who lived in Manila Bay, which was then called '' Lusong'' ( pt, ...

, which was later used to refer to the central area of the island, stretching from Pagasinan in the north, all the way to

in the south. The term Luções literally translates into Luzones.

History

In 2002, Central Luzon had the highest unemployment rate among all regions in the country at 11.3%.

Geography

The region is located north of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, the nation's capital. Central Luzon, in addition to the neighboring province of

, contains the largest plain in the Philippines with its agricultural plains accounting for about 40% of the geographical region's area. Bordering it are the regions of

Ilocos Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

and

Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, ...

to the north;

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

and the waters of

Manila Bay Manila Bay ( fil, Look ng Maynila) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Phi ...

to the south;

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...

to the west; and the

Philippine Sea The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...

to the east.

is historico-culturally and geographically an integral part of this region, but was politically made part of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

on June 22, 1973. There are fourteen

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the region: Balanga in Bataan;

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...

Meycauayan Meycauayan, officially the City of Meycauayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Meycauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. It is one of the oldest t ...

and

San Jose del Monte San Jose del Monte, officially the City of San Jose del Monte (abbreviated as SJDM or CSJDM; fil, Lungsod ng San Jose del Monte), is a 1st class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a po ...

in Bulacan;

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...

Gapan Gapan, officially the City of Gapan ( fil, Lungsod ng Gapan), is a 4th class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

, Muñoz,

Palayan Palayan, officially the City of Palayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Palayan, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Palayan''), is a 5th class component city and capital of the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of ...

and San Jose in Nueva Ecija;

Angeles City , anthem = Himno ning Angeles (Angeles Hymn) , subdivision_type3 = District , subdivision_name3 = , established_title = Settled , established_date = 1796 , established_title1 = Chartere ...

Mabalacat Mabalacat, officially the City of Mabalacat ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Mabalacat; fil, Lungsod ng Mabalacat), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 293,244 people ...

and

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

in Pampanga;

in Tarlac; and

Olongapo Olongapo, officially the City of Olongapo ( fil, Lungsod ng Olongapo; ilo, Siudad ti Olongapo; xsb, Siyodad nin Olongapo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Located in the province of Zambales ...

in Zambales. Central Luzon produces the most rice in the whole country. Excess rice is delivered and imported to other regions of the Philippines. The City of San Fernando, provincial capital of Pampanga, is designated as the regional center.

was transferred from Region IV through ''Executive Order No. 103'' in May 2002.

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Central Luzon comprises 7

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, 2 ''highly urbanized''

, 12 ''component'' cities, 116

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, 3,102 barangays

Governors and vice governors

Cities

The Central Luzon Region has fourteen cities.

is the city with the most population while

is the most densely populated city in the region.

Tarlac City Tarlac City, officially the City of Tarlac ( pam, Lakanbalen ning Tarlac; pag, Siyudad na Tarlac; ilo, Siudad ti Tarlac; fil, Lungsod ng Tarlac ), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to ...

is the largest based on land area.

Demographics

Languages

The native languages of Central Luzon are: *

Bugkalot The Bugkalot (also Ilongot or Ibilao) are a tribe inhabiting the southern Sierra Madre and Caraballo Mountains, on the east side of Luzon in the Philippines, primarily in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Nueva Ecija and along the mountain bor ...

, spoken in parts of Nueva Ecija and Aurora. *

Kapampangan Kapampangan, Capampañgan or Pampangan may refer to: *Kapampangan people of the Philippines *Kapampangan language Kapampangan or Pampangan is an Austronesian language, and one of the eight major languages of the Philippines. It is the primary ...

, spoken in the entirety of Pampanga and southern Tarlac, as well as southeastern Zambales, northeastern Bataan, western Bulacan, and southwestern Nueva Ecija. * Casiguranin (Kasiguranin), spoken in parts of Aurora. *

, spoken in northern Tarlac, northeastern Zambales, and northwestern Nueva Ecija. * Tagalog, spoken in Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Bataan, and Zambales. It is the regional

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

, mostly as

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

. * Ilocano, spoken in northern Nueva Ecija, north Tarlac, and some parts of Zambales and Aurora. *

Sambal Sambal is an Indonesian chilli sauce or paste, typically made from a mixture of a variety of chilli peppers with secondary ingredients, such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, scallion, palm sugar, and lime juice. ''Sambal'' is an ...

, spoken in a majority of Zambales and a few scattered areas in Bataan and Pampanga.

Religion

Eighty percent of the population of Central Luzon is

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. Other religions represented are Protestants (including Evangelicals), Islam, Iglesia ni Cristo, and

indigenous Philippine folk religions Indigenous Philippine folk religions are the distinct native religions of various ethnic groups in the Philippines, where most follow belief systems in line with animism. Generally, these indigenous folk religions are referred to as Anito or An ...

. There are also other denominations such as Jesus Is Lord, Pentecostal Missionary Church of Christ, Ang Dating Daan, Jesus Miracle Crusade, United Methodist Church and others.

Economy

Gallery

Iglesia de San Luis de Tolosa de Baler, Aurora, Filipinas.jpg,

Baler, Aurora Baler, officially the Municipality of Baler ( tl, Bayan ng Baler; ilo, Ili ti Baler), is a 3rd class municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the province of the Philippines, province of Aurora (province), Aurora, Philippine ...

9822jfSaint Nicholas Tolentino Cathedral Cabanatuanfvf 06.JPG,

Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan ( fil, Lungsod ng Cabanatuan; ilo, Siudad ti Cabanatuan), is a 1st class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 327,325 peop ...

Divine Shepherdess Shrine in Gapan, Nueva Ecija.jpg,

Gapan, Nueva Ecija Gapan, officially the City of Gapan ( fil, Lungsod ng Gapan), is a 4th class component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 122,968 people. Gapan is nicknamed the "Footwear Capi ...

Bmacabebetownhalljf.JPG,

Macabebe, Pampanga Macabebe, officially the Municipality of Macabebe ( pam, Balen ning Macabebe; tl, Bayan ng Macabebe), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 78,151 people. Hi ...

Kakarongjf.JPG, Pandi, Bulacan FvfTSU0081 20.JPG,

References

External links

Central Luzon Local Search

North Luzon Super Region: Potentials

North Luzon Super Region: Projects

Executive Order No. 103
{{Regions of the Philippines Regions of the Philippines Luzon