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 (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 supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Granary of the Philippines". Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac 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 cap ...

was formerly a province of Central Luzon before President Marcos signed ''Presidential Decree No. 1'', 1972, incorporating it into Ilocos Region. Additionally, the province of Aurora was part of the defunct political region Southern Tagalog when the region was divided into Calabarzon 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 201 ...

, upon the issuance of '' Executive Order No. 103'', dated May 17, 2002, by then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which transferred Aurora to Central Luzon.

Etymology

The current name of the region refers to its position on the island of Luzon. The term was coined by American colonialists after the defeat of the First Philippine Republic. 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, which was later used to refer to the central area of the island, stretching from Pagasinan in the north, all the way to Pampanga 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 populated ...

, 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 ...

, Calabarzon 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 Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between t ...

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 Ph ...

to the west; and the Philippine Sea to the east.

is historico-culturally and geographically an integral part of this region, but was politically made part of the Ilocos Region by President Ferdinand Marcos on June 22, 1973. There are fourteen cities in the region: Balanga in Bataan;

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city ...

, Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte 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 p ...

, Gapan,

Muñoz Muñoz ( or ) is a Spanish-language surname—with a Portuguese-language variant ( Munhoz), from Basque "muinoa" (Hill), the surname got expanded during the Reconquista with massive settlements done by citizens from Navarre and Álava in New Cas ...

, Palayan and San Jose in Nueva Ecija; Angeles City, Mabalacat and San Fernando in Pampanga; Tarlac in Tarlac; and Olongapo 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. Aurora was transferred from Region IV through ''Executive Order No. 103'' in May 2002.

Administrative divisions

Provinces

Central Luzon comprises 7 provinces, 2 ''highly urbanized'' cities, 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 ...

, 3,102 barangays

Governors and vice governors

Cities

The Central Luzon Region has fourteen cities. San Jose del Monte is the city with the most population while Angeles City is the most densely populated city in the region. Tarlac City 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 bord ...

, spoken in parts of Nueva Ecija and Aurora. * Kapampangan, 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 Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...

, spoken in Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Bataan, and Zambales. It is the regional lingua franca, mostly as Filipino. * Ilocano, spoken in northern Nueva Ecija, north Tarlac, and some parts of Zambales and Aurora. * Sambal, 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 let ...

. 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 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 Cap ...

Bmacabebetownhalljf.JPG, Macabebe, Pampanga Kakarongjf.JPG,

Pandi, Bulacan Pandi, officially the Municipality of Pandi ( tgl, Bayan ng Pandi), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 155,115 people. The municipality of Pandi lies north ...

FvfTSU0081 20.JPG, Tarlac City

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