Information: Region 3 – Central Luzon

Region 3 – Central Luzon is an is an administrative region in the Philippines occupying the central
section of Luzon. It covers 7 provinces, namely, Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga,
Tarlac, and Zambales, as well as 2 highly urbanized cities. The regional center is the City of San
Fernando.

Region III is also known as the Central Luzon Region. As the name implies, it is located centrally in
the large island of Luzon. It is the laregest contiguous flat land area in the Philippines with a total
land area of more than 22,015 sq. km. This vast area of lowland is plated, primarily to rice, thus the
appellation “Rice Granary of the Philippines” aptly attached to the region. One-fifth of all the rice-
producing provinces in the country are in the region. Combined rice production of these province
accounts to one-third of the total rice produced in the country. The region is originally composed of
the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. Recent regional
reorganization and developments have transferred the province of Aurora to Region III since access
to theprovince is made possible through the adjacent provinces of Central Luzon. Thus, true to its
name, Central Luzon became the only region whose provinces are compacted in a centrally located
land mass. The region is encompassed by a series of mountains: Caraballo Mountain Range in the
northeast, Sierra Madre Mountain Range in the west. Several rivers drain the region, the largest and
longest of which is the Pampanga River, which rises in the Caraballo Mountains and exits into Manila
Bay. The region is bounded on the nortwest by the province of Pangasinan; South China Sea on the
west; Pacific Ocean on the east; and Manila Bay on the southwest. The region is populated at large
by the Tagalogs, Ilocanos, and Kapampangans. Indigenous cultural groups such as the Dumagats,
Aetas or Itas, Igorot, Ilongot, Isinai, Bugkalot, and Zambales settel in the hinterlands and
mountainous areas. The recent eruption of Mt. Pinatubo has dramatically altered the landscape of
the region.