FACILITIES• Region III is an important trading center and

transportation terminal for products. Land travel is facilitated by a network of well-paved and extensive highways and roads linking all municipalities within the region. There are two international airports in the region: Clark International Airport (now Diosdado Macapagal International Airport) and Subic International Airport. Port facilities facilitate trade with other areas in the Asia-Pacific region such as Hongkong, China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

• Central Luzon is well provided with communication facilities. Its provinces have adequate supply of electricity and potable water. Big markets, recreational facilities, and educational and financial institutions service the needs of the populace.

LAND USE AND FORESTRY• Region III covers a total land area of 2,147,036 hectares. Of this,

1,204,649 hectares are alienable & disposable lands (A&D) and 942,387 hectares are forest lands. Forty-one percent (41%) of the A&D lands are agricultural plains, with rice as the major crop. The region also produces corn, banana, fruits, and vegetables.

• Forest land comprises 43.89% of the region’s total land area. Based on the 2011 Philippine Forestry Statistics, the region has a total forest cover of 589,495 hectares, mostly concentrated in the provinces of Aurora and Zambales.

• As of 2012, a total of 120 Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) Agreements have been issued by the DENR in Region 3 placing under community stewardship 66,822.63 hectares of forestland, benefitting 120 people’s organizations and 10,454 households.

• The CBFM is a government strategy which “gives the management of forests back to the people.” It offers long-term security of tenure to partner-communities and promotes an integrated approach to sustainable forest resource management.

• The Region also implements the National Greening Program (NGP), a flagship program of President Benigno S. Aquino III which aims to plant 1.5 billion trees in 1.5 million hectares of denuded areas in the country from 2011-2016.

• In 2012 alone, Region 3 was able to rehabilitate 15,751 hectares of open and denuded lands through massive tree planting involving business and industry groups, socio-civic and people’s organizations, academe and other government agencies, including media and faith-based organizations.

Land Management Service

• Promoting Social Equity by Giving Public Agricultural Lands to the Rural Masses

• Introduction of Cadastral Survey- cadastral surveying, a public land survey that covers an extensive area, usually an entire municipality, subdividing the same into parcels for purposes of public land distribution

• Amendment of Act 926• Enactment of Commonwealth Act No. 141• Post war efforts to fast track land distribution• Devolution of functions

Improved Basic Education Achievement Rates

1. Provision of educational facilities that include classrooms with the attendant facilities, textbooks, computer sets at the elementary and secondary levels.

2. Skills Training cum Classroom Construction3. Financial assistance and scholarship to deserving

poor students. 4. Early childhood care and development.5. Elementary Science and Math Centers Project.

Relevant Technical-Vocational Education and Training Programs (TVET)

1. Intensified Social Marketing and Advocacy Program of TVET at the enterprise and community level

2. Strict implementation of the TESDA Quality Monitoring System 3. Re-design of TVET scholarship programs for efficiency and

relevance 4. Development of practical and relevant training modules for

more effective results based on TVET graduates’ employability 5. Annual tracking of TVET Program graduates and evaluation for

its continuing relevance and flexibility in the local and global labor market

Improved Access to Health Services

1. Establishment of Botica ng Barangay and expansion of the service outlets of Gamot na Mabisa at Abot- Mabisa at Abot-Kaya (GMA 50) Kaya (GMA 50).

2. Monitoring and Testing of Water Potability.