Central Luzon Gitnang Luzon Tengnga a Luzon Kalibudtarang Luzon Botlay a Luzon Pegley a Luzon Region III | |
|---|---|
     | |
| Nickname: Rice Granary of the Philippines[1] | |
 Location in the Philippines | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
| Coordinates:15°28′N120°45′E / 15.47°N 120.75°E /15.47; 120.75 | |
| Country |  Philippines |
| Island group | Luzon |
| Regional center | San Fernando(Pampanga)[2] |
| Largest city | San Jose del Monte |
| Area | |
• Total | 22,014.63 km2 (8,499.90 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 2,037 m (6,683 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[4] | |
• Total | 12,989,074 |
| • Density | 590.0201/km2 (1,528.145/sq mi) |
| GDP(Nominal, 2024) | |
| • Total | US$50.6 billion[5] |
| • Per capita | US$3,935[5] |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ISO 3166 code | PH-03 |
| Provinces | |
| Independent cities | |
| Component cities | |
| Municipalities | 115 |
| Barangays | 3,102 |
| Cong. districts | 20 |
| Languages | |
| HDI |  0.765 (High) |
| HDI rank | 4th in the Philippines (2019) |
Central Luzon (Tagalog:Gitnang Luzon;Kapampangan:Kalibudtarang Luzon;Sambal:Botlay a Luzon;Pangasinan:Pegley a Luzon;Ilocano:Tengnga a Luzon), designated asRegion III, is anadministrative region in the Philippines. The region comprises seven provinces:Aurora,Bataan,Bulacan,Nueva Ecija,Pampanga (with its capital,City of San Fernando serving as the regional center),Tarlac, andZambales; and twohighly urbanized cities,Angeles andOlongapo.San Jose del Monte is the most populous city in the region. The region contains the largestplain in the country and produces most of the country's rice supply, earning itself the nickname "Rice Granary of the Philippines". It is also the region to have the most number of provinces.[1]
The current name of the region refers to its position on the island ofLuzon. The term was coined by American colonialists after the defeat of theFirst Philippine Republic. There have been proposals to rename the current Central Luzon region into theLuzones 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 Pangasinan in the north, all the way toPampanga in the south.[citation needed] The term Luções literally translates into Luzones.[6][7]
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While there are a number of competingmodels of migration to the Philippines, it is generally believed that The earliestmodern human migrations into the Philippine islands were during thePaleolithic, around 40,000 years ago, representing the people from whom theAeta peoples have been believed by researchers to be descended.[8] This was followed by two other migration waves between 25,000 and 12,000 years ago. The latest migration wave is associated with theAustronesian peoples, circa 7,000 years ago.[9][10]Kapampangans,Sambal people and theSinauna (lit. "those from the beginning"), originated insouthern Luzon, where they made contact with the migratingTagalog settlers, of which contact between the Kapampangans and Tagalogs was most intensive.[11] After this, the original settlers moved northward: Kapampangans moved to modern Tondo, Navotas, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Pampanga, south Tarlac, and east Bataan,[12][13][14][15] and Sambals to the modern province of Zambales,[16] in turn, displacing the Aetas. The flatlands of the southern portion of Upper Pampanga (now Nueva Ecija), was a hospitable place for these new Tagalog settlers between 300 and 200 B.C.[17] Tagalogs from southern Luzon, most specificallyCavite, migrated to parts of Bataan. Aetas were displaced to the mountain areas by the end of the 16th century. Kapampangans settled Aurora alongside Aetas and Bugkalots.Pangasinan people are the native settlers in northwest area of Central Luzon;Igorot people, particularly Kalanguya, Isinay, and Bugkalot, are native residents in northern area of Central Luzon, precisely present-day Nueva Ecija, with the Bugkalots also live in northwest Aurora.
When the Spaniards arrived and settled the Philippines, Provincia de La Pampanga was established in the largest area of Central Luzon in 1571; portion of Central Luzon was made up of Pangasinán created in 1580. The next provinces that were created out of Pampanga were Bulacan and Zambales which were both established in 1578. Baler & Casiguran became part of Kalilayan, which included modern Nueva Ecija, until Kalilayan changed its name to Tayabas in 1749, taken from thetown of the same name.[18][19][20][21] Nueva Ecija was created as a military district orcomandancia governed byGovernor-GeneralFausto Cruzat y Góngora in 1701, but still part of Pampanga at that time. It included huge swathes of Central Luzon, the Contracosta towns, as well as the Kalilayan area andPolillo Islands.[22][20] Contracosta was the Spanish colonial name for the towns on the east coast and included towns fromMauban, Binangonan de Lampon, to El Principe.[23][21] Since Contracosta & Kalilayan were part of La Laguna province at that time before including them in Nueva Ecija, they became jointly ruled by La Pampanga & La Laguna provinces.[19] Historian Cornelio Bascara documents that the province of Bataan was established on January 11, 1757, byGovernor-GeneralPedro Manuel Arandia out of territories belonging to Pampanga and thecorregimiento ofMariveles which, at that time, includedMaragondon acrossManila Bay.[24][25] Tagalogs migrated to east Bataan, where Kapampangans assimilated to the Tagalogs. Kapampangans were displaced to the towns near Pampanga by that time, along with the Aetas.
When the polities of Tondo and Maynila fell due to the Spanish, the Tagalog-majority areas grew through Tagalog migrations in portions of Central Luzon and north Mimaropa as a Tagalog migration policy was implemented by Spain. This happened again whenBritish occupation of Manila happened in 1762, when many Tagalog refugees from Manila and north areas of Cavite escaped to Bulacan and to neighboring Nueva Ecija, where the original Kapampangan settlers welcomed them; Bulacan and Nueva Ecija were natively Kapampangan when Spaniards arrived; majority of Kapampangans sold their lands to the newly arrived Tagalog settlers and others intermarried with and assimilated to the Tagalog, which made Bulacan and Nueva Ecija dominantly Tagalog, many of the Tagalog settlers arrived in Nueva Ecija directly from Bulacan;[26] also, the sparsely populated valley of the Zambales region was later settled by migrants, largely from theTagalog andIlocos regions, leading to the assimilation of Sambals to the Tagalog and Ilocano settlers and to the modern decline in the Sambal identity and language.[26][27] The same situation happened in modern Aurora, where it was repopulated by settlers fromTagalog and Ilocos regions, with other settlers fromCordillera andIsabela, and married with some Aeta andBugkalots, this led to the assimilation of Kapampangans to the Tagalog settlers.[28][29][12][15][30] Kapampangans were the native residents of the northwest areas of Nueva Ecija; Pangasinan settlers moved there during early years of Spanish territorial period until the Kapampangans assimilated to the Pangasinan settlers.[13][14][31][32] In the 19th century, repopulation and rice and tobacco industries caused large numbers ofIlocano settlers to move and stay in north areas of Central Luzon (Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, and Aurora) and south central Zambales; they now made up the largest ethnic group in those areas. The Tagalog and Ilocano migrations and settlements made Tagalog the lingua franca of Central Luzon and Ilocano the lingua franca in north areas of the region and south central Zambales. Many Ilocano settlers became assimilated in the areas with the Kapampangan and Tagalog majority populations, adopting Kapampangan and Tagalog as their native language while speaking Ilocano as 2nd language. Ilocano migrations and settlements continued in modern Aurora and Nueva Ecija in U.S. territorial rule in 20th century; in Aurora, Ilocano settlers lived inDingalan andDipaculao.
On December 27, 1735, a dangerous storm struck Baler and atsunami calledtromba marina devastated the old town settlement then located in present Barrio Sabang. Among the survivors were the Angaras, Bihasas, Bitongs, Lumasacs, Carrascos, and Pobletes who swam to the nearby Ermita Hill.[33][failed verification][34] Bihasas are from Dumagat or Aeta origins and Lumasacs are descendants of Bugkalots. A new community appeared into what is now the Poblacion of Baler, leaving "Kinagunasan," the place of devastation. A mural depicting this wave can be found in theMuseo de Baler in town.[citation needed]
WhenRafael María de Aguilar y Ponce de León took over as governor-general of the Philippines, he decreed the separation of the military- district of Nueva Ecija from the province of Pampanga and became a regular province on April 25, 1801, including the town of Baler, acquired from Tayabas.[18]
In 1818, Nueva Ecija annexed the towns ofPalanan fromIsabela, as well as Baler, Casiguran, Infanta (formerly called Binangonan de Lampon) and Polillo Islands from Tayabas, and Cagayan,Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and part of Rizal.[19][35] In 1853, the new military district of Tayabas was separated from Nueva Ecija and included present-day Southern Quezon as well as present-day Aurora. In 1858, Binangonan de Lampon and the Polillo Islands were separated from Nueva Ecija to form part of Infanta.[22] Between 1855 and 1885, El Principe was established as its own Military Comandancia under the rule of Nueva Ecija with its capital in Baler.[19] In 1873, Tarlac was established and was created from south Pangasinan and north Pampanga; this is the last province to be created in Central Luzon.
In 1901, towns ofNueva Ecija, namelyBalungao,Rosales,San Quintin andUmingan were annexed to the province of Pangasinan.[22] On November 30, 1903, several municipalities from northernZambales including Agno, Alaminos, Anda, Bani, Bolinao, Burgos, Dasol, Infanta and Mabini were ceded to Pangasinan by the American colonial government. These municipalities were a part of the homeland of the Sambal people who wanted to remain within the Zambales province. This 1903 colonial decision has yet to be reverted.[36] The reason for transferring those towns from Nueva Ecija & Zambales to Pangasinan is because they were geographically further away from the capitals.
In 1902, the district of El Príncipe was separated from Nueva Ecija and transferred to the province ofTayabas (now Quezon).[37][19][34][38] The northern area which is part of the modern Dilasag and area of modern Casiguran was part of Nueva Vizcaya and also transferred to Tayabas in 1905.[39] In 1918, the area of modern Aurora north of Baler was transferred to the authority of Nueva Vizcaya, but returned to Tayabas in 1921 and in 1942, the entire present-day territory of Aurora was annexed from Tayabas to Nueva Ecija,[40] and returned to Tayabas in 1945[41] until the time when Tayabas was renamed toQuezon in 1946.
Central Luzon featured prominently duringWorld War II, becoming one of the earliest targets of Japanese attacks because of the presence of U.S. Military bases in the area, and also because GeneralDouglas MacArthur's plans for responding to the invasion involved falling back to positions in Bataan in Central Luzon, as well as the island of Corregidor which is administered byCavite province in Southern Luzon.
The hostilities of the war began with simultaneous attackson Pearl Harbor andon Clark Field[42] and also on a smaller fighter base atIba, both in Central Luzon.[43] The dates of those attacks are different, however, because they took place across different sides of theInternational Date Line.[42]
Prior to the 1941Japanese invasion, Bataan was a military reservation for the purpose of defending the fortress island ofCorregidor.[44] TheUS Army stored nearly 1,000,000 US gallons (3,800 m3) ofgasoline there, along with various munitions. At the southern tip of the peninsula the U.S. Navy had established a small base at the port of Mariveles.
Shortly after theJapanese Armyinvaded the country in December 1941, the combined US and Filipino forces were being gradually overrun and GeneralDouglas MacArthur moved his troops to the Bataan Peninsula in an attempt to hold out until a relief force could be sent from the US. Japanese forces started a siege of the peninsula on January 7, 1942, and launched an all-out assault on April 3.[45] The majority of the American and Filipino forces were compelled to surrender on April 9 and were forced to march more than 100 kilometers (62 mi) from Bataan toCapas,Tarlac, which became known as theBataan Death March.
After the surrenders of Bataan and Corregidor, many who escaped the Japanese reorganized in the mountains asguerrillas still loyal to the U.S. Army Forces Far East (USAFFE). This included the group ofRamon Magsaysay in Zambales, which grew to a 10,000-man force by the end of the war;[46] the 22,000-man group ofRussell W. Volckmann which called itself theUnited States Army Forces in the Philippines - Northern Luzon;[47]: 226 andRobert Lapham who commanded the 14,191 man group called the Luzon Guerrilla Army Forces;[47]: 226 among others.
In March 1942, thePartido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP-1930, a predecessor of the currentCommunist Party of the Philippines) likewise led in the organization of a broadunited front resistance to theJapanese occupation of the Philippines calledHukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan,[48]: 44 (lit. 'People's Liberation Army'). The organization operated successfully in underminng the Japanese until the end of the war, after which they found themselves alienated by the victorious U.S. led allied forces, most of whom had already developed the anticommunist sentiment which would mark the beginning of theCold War. The PKP-1930 would thus resolve to reconstitute the organization as the armed wing of their revolutionary party.[48]: 44
The battle plan of the allied efforts to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese called for invasion forces landing to the north and south of Manila, which would converge on the capital, which was the primary objective. This would mean that the Northern force, which landed in theLingayen Gulf, would cross the Central Luzon plains to get to Manila.
Clark Air Base had a notable role in theBattle of Luzon on 23 January 1944, in that it was the first major point of resistance where the Japanese fought back against allied forces who had landed inAgoo,Lingayen, and other towns in along the gulf, a province north.[49] Learning that there were Prisoners of War at risk of being murdered at a POW Camp inCabanatuan,Nueva Ecija, 133 U.S. soldiers from the 6th Ranger Battalion and Alamo Scouts, and about 250–280 Filipino guerrillas were detached from the main spearhead to attempt to rescue the prisoners. The resulting attack on 30 January 1944 was highly successful, and is now popularly known as the "Raid at Cabanatuan."[50] Meanwhile, the Battle at Clark Air Base lasted until the end of January, after which the allies pushed on towards Manila.[49]
After the social and economic upheavals of the war and with government institutions still in their nascent form after the recognition of Philippine Independence by the international community, the first few decades after the end of the war were marked by dissatisfaction and social tension.[51] In the largely agricultural context of Central Luzon those tensions tended to coalesce around the interrelated issues of land ownership, and the working conditions of agricultural workers.[52]
The FilipinocommunistHukbalahapguerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon to fight the Japanese occupation, had found themselves sidelined by the new post-independencePhilippine government which had taken up thefear of communist influence which marked the beginning of the cold war in the west. So they decided to extended their fight into a rebellion against the new government, only to be put down through a series of reforms and military victories byDefense Secretary, and later President,Ramon Magsaysay.[53]
Ultimately more effective than those who took up arms were the numerous political and labor movements who kept working towards agricultural land reform and stronger labor rights, with laborers' and farmers' protests gathering enough steam that several Philippine presidents were forced to meet with them and then concede to their demands. Among the most successful of these were the Land Justice March of the political group known as the Filipino Agrarian Reform Movement (FARM), which intended to march from Tarlac to Malacañang in 1969, although President Marcos was forced to give in to their demands early, meeting them while they were still atCamp Servillano Aquino in Tarlac City itself.[52]
The beginning months of the 1970s marked a period of turmoil and change in the Philippines, particularly in Central Luzon.[54] During hisbid to be the first Philippine president to be re-elected for a second term, Ferdinand Marcos launched an unprecedented number of foreign debt-funded public works projects. This caused[55][56] the Philippine economy took a sudden downwards turn known as the1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis, which in turn led to a period of economic difficulty and a significant rise of social unrest.[57][58][59][60]: "43" In central luzon, social tensions tended to coalesce around the presence of the two largestUnited States bases in the Philippines,[52] the appropriation of lands for the creation of new industrial zones,[61][62] and the interrelated issues of land ownership and the working conditions of agricultural workers.[52]
With only a year left in his last constitutionally allowed term as president, Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines underMartial Law in September 1972 and thus retained the position for fourteen more years.[63] This period in Philippine history is remembered for the Marcos administration's record ofhuman rights abuses,[64][65] particularly targeting political opponents, student activists, journalists, religious workers, farmers, and others who fought against the Marcos dictatorship.[66]
Anyone who expressed opposition to Marcos was arrested, often without warrant, in an effort defense ministerJuan Ponce Enrile would later admit was meant to "emasculate all the leaders in order to control the situation,"[67] among them Senator and Concepcion nativeNinoy Aquino, whose assassination years later would galvanize the effort to oust Marcos.[63] Since they were not charged with crimes, they were called "political detainees" instead of "prisoners."[68][69]Camp Olivas in theCity of San Fernando, Pampanga was designated as one of the four provincial camps to become a Regional Command for Detainees (RECAD) - designated "RECAD II" and housing detainees from Northern and Central Luzon.[70] Other sites used as detention camps in central luzon included Camps Servillano Aquino and Camp Macabulos in Tarlac City.[71] Detainees were subject to an extensiveset of torture methods, while many others were never brought to the detention centers and were simply killed in unofficial "safehouses."[69] Others were killed in various massacres, with prominent instances in Central Luzon including incidents in Talugtug, Nueva Ecija on January 3, 1982; Pulilan, Bulacan on June 21, 1982; and Gapan, Nueva Ecija on February 12, 1982.[72]
It was also during Martial Law that construction on theBataan Nuclear Power Plant began in Morong, in 1976,[73] in a deal between the government andWestinghouse Electric brokered byMarcos cronyHerminio Disini.[74] The project was plagued with problems throughout construction, including location, welding, cabling, pipes and valves, permits, and kickbacks, as well as setbacks such as the decline of Marcos's influence due to bad health and PR fallout from the incident at the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor.[75] A subsequent safety inquiry into the plant revealed over 4,000 defects.[73] Another issues raisead regarding it was the proximity of a majorgeological fault line and of the then-dormantMount Pinatubo. By March 1975, Westinghouse's cost estimate ballooned so that the final cost was $2.2 Billion for a single reactor producing half the power of the original proposal.[74] The power plant would eventually would be responsible to 10% of the country'sexternal debt, despite never actually operating.[76]
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In 2002, Central Luzon had the highest unemployment rate among all regions in the country at 11.3%.[77]
The region is located north ofManila, the nation's capital. Central Luzon, in addition to the neighboring province ofPangasinan, contains the largest plain in the Philippines with its agricultural plains accounting for about 40% of the geographical region's area.[78] Bordering it are the regions ofIlocos andCagayan Valley to the north;National Capital Region,Calabarzon and the waters ofManila Bay to the south;South China Sea to the west; and thePhilippine Sea to the east.[79] The only inland provinces are Nueva Ecija & Tarlac.Pangasinan is historico-culturally and geographically an integral part of this region, but was politically made part of theIlocos Region byPresidentFerdinand Marcos on June 22, 1973.[80]
There are fifteencities in the region:Balanga in Bataan;Baliwag,Malolos,Meycauayan, andSan Jose del Monte in Bulacan;Cabanatuan,Gapan,Muñoz,Palayan, andSan Jose in Nueva Ecija;Angeles City,Mabalacat City, andCity of San Fernando in Pampanga;Tarlac City in Tarlac; andOlongapo in Zambales. Central Luzon produces the most rice in the whole country. Excess rice is delivered and imported to other regions of the Philippines.[81]
TheCity of San Fernando, the provincial capital of Pampanga, is designated as the regional center.Aurora was transferred fromRegion IV throughExecutive Order No. 103 in May 2002.[82][83][84] Aurora was the sub-province created from the northern part ofQuezon in 1951, named afterAurora Quezon.[85] One obvious reason for creating the sub-province was the area's isolation from the rest of Quezon Province: there were no direct links to the rest of the province and much of the terrain was mountainous and heavily forested, which made the area relatively isolated, and its distance from Quezon's capitalLucena.[86][18] On September 7, 1946, theThird Philippine Republic enactedRepublic Act No. 14, which renamed the province of Tayabas toQuezon, in honor of Aurora's husband & cousinManuel Quezon.[87] Quezon was the secondPresident of the Philippines and elected governor of Tayabas in 1906 and congressman of 1st district of Tayabas in 1907 and, along with Aurora, were natives of Baler (now capital ofAurora), formerly one of the towns of Quezon Province. The total separation of Aurora from Quezon & transfer of Aurora to Central Luzon were the fulfillment of the wishes and prayers of the residents of the original Municipalities of Baler and Casiguran to be truly independent from Quezon Province for the first time and to reform the original La Pampanga since the Spanish occupation.[19][12][13][14][15] The transfer of Aurora to Central Luzon opened the access of Central Luzon to Pacific Ocean. Many residents and government leaders of Aurora objected to the change, as Aurora maintains strong historical and cultural connections to the rest of Southern Tagalog, particularly Quezon Province, thus also of the memory of Manuel Quezon, and with that, Aurora residents self-identified with Quezon; but Aurora's transfer to Central Luzon means that geographically, the province is more accessible by land from Nueva Ecija and of course, San Fernando, Pampanga.[88]
Central Luzon comprises 7provinces, 2highly urbanizedcities, 12component cities, 116municipalities, 3,102 barangays[89]
| ProvinceorHUC | Capital | Population(2020)[4] | Area[90] | Density | Cities | Muni. | Barangay | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km2 | sq mi | /km2 | /sq mi | |||||||||
| Aurora | Baler | 1.9% | 235,750 | 3,133.40 | 1,209.81 | 75 | 190 | 0 | 8 | 151 | ||
| Bataan | Balanga | 6.9% | 853,373 | 1,372.98 | 530.11 | 620 | 1,600 | 1 | 11 | 237 | ||
| Bulacan | Malolos | 29.9% | 3,708,890 | 2,783.69 | 1,074.79 | 1,300 | 3,400 | 3 | 21 | 569 | ||
| Nueva Ecija | Palayan | 18.6% | 2,310,134 | 5,689.69 | 2,196.80 | 410 | 1,100 | 5 | 27 | 849 | ||
| Pampanga | City of San Fernando | 19.6% | 2,437,709 | 2,001.22 | 772.68 | 1,200 | 3,100 | 2 | 19 | 505 | ||
| Tarlac | Tarlac City | 12.1% | 1,503,456 | 3,053.60 | 1,179.00 | 490 | 1,300 | 1 | 17 | 511 | ||
| Zambales | Iba | 5.2% | 649,615 | 3,645.83 | 1,407.66 | 180 | 470 | 0 | 13 | 230 | ||
| Angeles City | † | — | 3.7% | 462,928 | 60.27 | 23.27 | 7,700 | 20,000 | — | — | 33 | |
| Olongapo | † | — | 2.1% | 260,317 | 185.00 | 71.43 | 1,400 | 3,600 | — | — | 17 | |
| Total | 12,422,172 | 22,014.63 | 8,499.90 | 560 | 1,500 | 14 | 116 | 3,102 | ||||
† Angeles and Olongapo arehighly urbanized cities; figures are excluded from Pampanga and Zambales respectively. | ||||||||||||
| Province | Image | Governor | Political Party | Vice Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isidro P. Galban | LDP | Patrick Alexis Angara | |||
 |  | Jose Enriquez S. Garcia III | PFP | Ma. Cristina M. Garcia | |
 |  | Daniel R. Fernando (Cesar Fernando Ramirez) | NUP | Alex Castro | |
 |  | Aurelio Umali | Sigaw | Gil Raymond M. Umali | |
 |  | Lilia G. Pineda | Kambilan | Dennis G. Pineda | |
 | .jpg) | Christian Tell A. Yap | SST | Estelita M. Aquino | |
 |  | Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr. | SZP | Jacqueline Rose Khonghun | |
The Central Luzon Region has fifteen cities.San Jose del Monte is the city with the most population whileAngeles City is the most densely populated city in the region.Tarlac City is the largest based on land area.
| City | Population(2020)[4] | Area[91] | Density | City class | Income class | Province | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| km2 | sq mi | /km2 | /sq mi | |||||
| Angeles City | 462,928 | 60.27 | 23.27 | 7,700 | 20,000 | Highly Urbanized | 1st | Pampanga |
| Balanga | 104,173 | 111.63 | 43.10 | 930 | 2,400 | Component | 4th | Bataan |
| Baliwag | 168,470 | 45.05 | 17.39 | 3,700 | 9,600 | Component | 2nd | Bulacan |
| Cabanatuan | 327,325 | 192.29 | 74.24 | 1,700 | 4,400 | Component | 1st | Nueva Ecija |
| Gapan | 122,968 | 164.44 | 63.49 | 750 | 1,900 | Component | 4th | Nueva Ecija |
| Mabalacat | 293,244 | 83.18 | 32.12 | 3,500 | 9,100 | Component | 1st | Pampanga |
| Malolos | 261,189 | 67.25 | 25.97 | 3,900 | 10,000 | Component | 1st | Bulacan |
| Meycauayan | 225,673 | 32.10 | 12.39 | 7,000 | 18,000 | Component | 1st | Bulacan |
| Muñoz | 84,308 | 163.05 | 62.95 | 520 | 1,300 | Component | 4th | Nueva Ecija |
| Olongapo | 260,317 | 185.00 | 71.43 | 1,400 | 3,600 | Highly Urbanized | 1st | Zambales |
| Palayan | 45,383 | 101.40 | 39.15 | 450 | 1,200 | Component | 5th | Nueva Ecija |
| †San Fernando | 354,666 | 67.74 | 26.15 | 5,200 | 13,000 | Component | 1st | Pampanga |
| San Jose | 150,917 | 185.99 | 71.81 | 810 | 2,100 | Component | 3rd | Nueva Ecija |
| San Jose del Monte | 651,813 | 105.53 | 40.75 | 6,200 | 16,000 | Component | 1st | Bulacan |
| Tarlac City | 385,398 | 274.66 | 106.05 | 1,400 | 3,600 | Component | 1st | Tarlac |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 819,768 | — |
| 1918 | 1,044,631 | +1.63% |
| 1939 | 1,586,524 | +2.01% |
| 1948 | 1,860,274 | +1.78% |
| 1960 | 2,568,206 | +2.72% |
| 1970 | 3,695,955 | +3.70% |
| 1975 | 4,300,196 | +3.08% |
| 1980 | 4,909,938 | +2.69% |
| 1990 | 6,338,590 | +2.59% |
| 1995 | 7,092,191 | +2.13% |
| 2000 | 8,204,742 | +3.17% |
| 2007 | 9,709,177 | +2.35% |
| 2010 | 10,137,737 | +1.58% |
| 2015 | 11,218,177 | +1.95% |
| 2020 | 12,422,172 | +2.17% |
| 2024 | 12,989,074 | +1.08% |
| Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[92][93] | ||
The native languages of Central Luzon are:
The transfer of Aurora to Central Luzon added the population of Tagalog and Ilocano speakers along with Pangasinan and Kapampangan speakers in the region. Other native languages spoken in Central Luzon areUmiray Dumagat,Casiguran Dumagat,Palanan Dumagat,Northern Alta or Edimala in Aurora andSouthern Alta or Alta Kabulowan in Bulacan and Dingalan, Aurora, and Tagabulós in Dingalan and San Luis, Aurora; other languages not native to Central Luzon but spoken by descendants of migrants there areGa'dang,Kankanaey, andIsinay in Aurora, with the latter also spoken in Nueva Ecija.
Eighty percent of the population of Central Luzon isRoman Catholic. Other religions represented are Protestants (including Evangelicals), Islam,Iglesia ni Cristo comprised significant 5% adherence and Pampanga is the first ecclesiastical district of the Church, andindigenous Philippine folk religions. 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.[original research?]
Central Luzon has a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of 2.19-trillion pesos. Bulacan and Pampanga accounted for more than half of the region's economy, with shares of 27.7 percent and 24.1 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Tarlac, City of Angeles, Zambales, City of Olongapo, and Aurora had shares of 13.7 percent, 11.8 percent, 8.8 percent, 6.1 percent, 4.0 percent, 2.4 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively.
PHP244.15 billion is the total value of Agriculture, forestry and fishing of Central Luzon, Nueva Ecija accounted for the biggest share of 32.7 percent. Meanwhile, Pampanga and Tarlac ranked second and third with 25.7 percent and 16.9 percent shares, respectively.
In terms of the total value of Industry in the region, which amounted to PHP929.66 billion, Bulacan contributed the most with 32.7 percent share. This was followed by Pampanga with 24.3 percent share and Bataan with 17.5 percent share.
Similarly, Bulacan had the biggest share to the PHP1.01 trillion total value of the region's Services with 26.9 percent. This was followed by Pampanga and Nueva Ecija with respective shares of 23.5 percent and 14.3 percent.[94]
Poverty incidence of Central Luzon
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)These people (Ilongot) scattered rancherias toward Baler and sustain trading relations with the Tagalog of that town, but are hostile with the Ilongot of Nueva Vizcaya jurisdiction... It may be that these Ilongot communicate with the Tagalog town of Kasiguran.
On December 27, 1935, a big tidal wave or "tromba marina" wiped out the town, then located at Barrio Sabang. An undetermined number of its inhabitants were drowned and only 14 families survived. Among the survivors were the Angaras, Bijasas, Bitongs, Lumasacs, Carrascos and Pobletes. The Muslim raiders attacked Baler, Casiguran and Palanan in 1798...When military district of El Príncipe was created in 1856, Baler became its capital...On June 12, 1902 a civil government was established, moving the district of El Príncipe away from the administrative jurisdiction of Nueva Ecija...and placing it under the jurisdiction of Tayabas Province.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)1.a. Region No. 1 is called the Ilocos Region, and comprises the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, La Union, Benguet, Mountain Province, and Pangasinan, and the cities of Baguio, Laoag, Dagupan, and San Carlos, with regional center at San Fernando, La Union.
SECTION 4. The Province of Aurora is hereby transferred to and shall form part of Region III.
SECTION 4. The Province of Aurora is hereby transferred to and shall form part of Region III.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, Rep. Bellaflor Angara Castillo and Ricky Avanceña, grandson of the late President Manual Quezon, sought the scrapping of the executive order that transferred Aurora to Central Luzon... Angara, who hails from Aurora, called the order a "discretion of the historical, geographical and emotional ties of Aurora to the rest of Southern Tagalog, particularly Quezon province, but also of the memory of our first President, Manuel Quezon. Aurora the birthplace of the late President and his wife Doña Aurora Aragon, was a sub- province of Quezon until 1951... The province located on the eastern tip of Luzon and which faces the Pacific Ocean, is more accessible by land from Nueva Ecija, one of the Central Luzon's Provinces. It is one of the 20 poorest provinces in the country. However, Angara said Aurora residents have "consistently and publicly" identified themselves with Quezon.
Places adjacent to Central Luzon | |
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