REGIONAL PROFILE

Region 3 or Central Luzon covers the provinces of Bulacan,

Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Zambales and Aurora. It has a
total land area of 2,215,752 hectares. The region is endowed with a balanced
mix of environmental assets to value, maintain, develop and manage
accordingly. It is composed of 494,533 hectares of forestland, 251,518 hectares
of protected areas composed of watersheds and forest reserves, national parks,
games refuge, bird sanctuary and wildlife area covering 13.8% of the region’s
land area. Forty one percent of its land area is composed of agricultural plains
with rice as its main crop. Long coastlines rich with fishing grounds border it.
Mineral resources may be extracted in Bulacan and Zambales

Central Luzon is traditionally known as the Rice Bowl of the Philippines

due to its vast rice lands that produces most of the nation’s staple food
products as well as a wide variety of other crops. With the opening of various
investment opportunities in Economic Zones in Clarkfield and Subic Bay Area,
Region III is now termed as the W-Growth Corridor due to the industrialization
of many areas in the region. The W-Growth Corridor covers areas with rapid
growth potentials for the industrial, tourism and agricultural sectors of Central
Luzon, making Region III one of the most critical regions in terms of
environmental concerns primarily due to the rapid sprawl of
industries/establishments and human settlements while the necessary land
use and environmental planning are not yet effectively being carved. [As such,
the EMB, together with Local Government Units (LGUs) and other entities are
trying to lessen the impact of infrastructure development and industrialization
on the environment.

The province of Bulacan, situated in the industrial belt of the W-Growth

Corridor, has hundreds of small to medium scale Industries, a steady and fast
growing population due to the fast development of areas into residential and
industrial subdivisions, commercial establishments and the like. Bulacan takes
pride in being the Small and Medium Enterprise Center of the region. It may
also be considered the center of piggeries, poultry farms, and other agri-based
products, smelting, tannery and pyrotechnics industries. Many of which is
small scale and without pollution control facilities and environmental
mitigating measures. As a result, there is a rapid environmental degradation in
terms of air and water quality in the province. Also, its water bodies such as
the Meycauayan and Marilao Rivers are now considered heavily polluted.

The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 altered the geographical features of

the region particularly in Pampanga as many municipalities were covered by
lahar. Lahar deposits in the province’s natural drainage caused the clogging of
waterways and the siltation of various water bodies resulting to flooding and
prolonged submersion of several low-lying municipalities in floodwaters.

The tons of lahar deposited in Pampanga and Tarlac provided a new

source of livelihood to the affected municipalities. Lahar quarrying became
prevalent in both provinces, as lahar, when mixed with cement was found to
produce better quality hollow blocks and concrete materials which can be used
in various construction and infrastructure projects.

Also, situated in the region are the special economic and industrial zones
like the Luisita Industrial Park (LIP) in Tarlac City, Subic Bay Freeport Zone
(SBFZ) in Olongapo City, Authority for the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) in
Mariveles, Bataan and Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ) in Angeles City.

Tarlac, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija had developed a large percentage of

land for agricultural research, piggery and poultry projects. The said projects
contribute much to the pollution load in the water bodies. Consequently, the
number of complaints regarding livestock and agri-based operations has been a
major concern of EMB. In several cases, particularly for piggery and poultry
farms located in areas classified for residential purposes, the existence of a
piggery or poultry project in the area is no longer possible. There are also
small-scale piggery farms that cannot afford to construct wastewater treatment
facilities. As such, these farms need to be relocated into suitable areas
equipped with pollution control facilities.

In Zambales and Bataan, dominant are operations of beach resorts and

tourism projects. Clustering of multipartite monitoring team (MMT) for Subic
Bay resorts had been initiated. In fact, the MMT for Subic Bay Resorts
Association (SUBRA) was established in September of 2006.

Aurora, on the other hand, is located in the eastern portion of the Sierra
Madre Mountain Range making it generally mountainous. The Sierra Madre
Mountains traverse the entire length of the province. Most of the municipalities
are coastal towns featuring largely underdeveloped surfing beaches, with the
exception of Maria Aurora. Almost 60% of its land area is classified as forested
or timberland. The province also has a total of 66,944 hectares of protected
area composed of watershed forest reserves making it the center of corporate
forest development and management for Luzon. The forest development
(logging) industry has been on - going since the 1950’s. Logging, however, had
diversified from the traditional log and lumber production. Logging companies
have diversified into other livelihood endeavors like prawn culture, rattan
gathering and sericulture. Production from plantation and natural forest
provided the wood industry requirements of Metro Manila, Bulacan and the
nearby provinces. The pristine waters and lush vegetation of Aurora and its
potential for eco-tourism and economic development require that the DENR-
EMB should be more vigilant in carrying its mandate.

Provincial Profile

Province Land Area Population Dominant Industries/Provincial

( Hectares ) (2010) Characteristics
Underdeveloped surfing beaches and
Aurora 335,703 201,233 forest reserve areas
Bataan 137,296 687,482 Beach resorts & tourism projects,
petro-chemical industries, eco-zone
Piggeries, poultry farms & other agri-
Bulacan 262,500 2,924,433 based products, manufacturing,
ricemills, smelting , tannery and
pyrotechnics industries
Nueva Agricultural research, piggery &
Ecija 550,718 1,955,373 poultry projects
Pampanga 218,068 2,014,019 Quarrying, meat processing, poultry &
piggery, eco-zone
Quarrying, livestock development,
Tarlac 305,345 1,273,240 agricultural research
Operation of beach resorts & tourism
Zambales 371,440 534,443 projects, eco-zone