Pampanga

Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, Manila Bay to the central-south, Bataan to the southwest and Zambales to the west. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, the regional center of Central Luzon. Angeles City is the largest LGU, but while geographically within Pampanga, it is classified as a first-class, highly urbanized city and has been governed independently of the province since it received its charter in 1964.

The name ''La Pampanga'' was given by the Spaniards, who encountered natives living along the banks (''pampáng'') of the Pampanga River. Its creation in 1571 makes it the first Spanish province on Luzon Island (Cebu in Visayas is older as it was founded by the Spaniards in 1565). The town of Villa de Bacolor in the province briefly served as the Spanish colonial capital when Great Britain invaded Manila as part of the Seven Years' War. On the eve of the Philippine Revolution of 1896, Pampanga was one of eight provinces placed under martial law for rebellion against the Spanish Empire; it is thus represented on the Philippine national flag as one of the eight rays of the sun.

Pampanga is served by Clark International Airport (formerly ''Diosdado Macapagal International Airport''), which is in Clark Freeport Zone, some north of the provincial capital. The province is home to two Philippine Air Force airbases: Basa Air Base in Floridablanca and the former United States Clark Air Base in Angeles. Due to its growing population and developments, the Clark Global City is now being developed and is located in Clark Freeport Zone. In 2015, the province had 2,198,110 inhabitants, while it had 1,079,532 registered voters.

History

Spanish colonial era

The territorial area of old Pampanga included portions of the modern provinces of Tarlac, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Aurora; i.e. covered almost the entire Central Luzon. When the Spanish arrived at Luzon, they found Pampanga to be thickly populated with several towns and that there were 3 castles or forts protecting Pampanga. Pampanga was re-organized as a province by the Spaniards on December 11, 1571. La Provincia de La Pampanga included areas mentioned above except Tondo, along with modern provinces of Aurora and parts of Quezon (including Polillo Islands) and Rizal (Pampanga also included portions of Metro Manila, which are Novaliches and Valenzuela to be exact, which was formerly known as Polo, then towns in Bulacan). For better administration and taxation purposes, the Spanish authorities subdivided Pampanga into ''pueblos'', which were further subdivided into districts ('' barrios'') and in some cases into royal and private estates (''encomiendas'').

Due to excessive abuses committed by some ''encomenderos'', King Philip II of Spain in 1574 prohibited the further awarding of private estates, but this decree was not fully enforced until 1620. In a report of Philippine encomiendas on June 20, 1591, Governor-General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas reported to the Crown that La Pampanga's encomiendas were Bataan, Betis y Lubao, Macabebe, Candaba, Apalit, Calumpit, Malolos, Binto, Guiguinto, Caluya, Bulacan and Mecabayan. The encomiendas of La Pampanga at that time had eighteen thousand six hundred and eighty whole tributes.

Pampanga, which is about in area and inhabited by more than 1.5 million people, had its present borders drawn in 1873. During the Spanish regime, it was one of the richest Philippine provinces. Manila and its surrounding region were then primarily dependent on Kapampangan agricultural, fishery and forestry products as well as on the supply of skilled workers. As other Luzon provinces were created due to increases in population, some well-established Pampanga towns were lost to new emerging provinces in Central Luzon.

During the 17th century, The Dutch recruited men from Pampanga as mercenaries who served the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army, known as Papangers part of the larger Mardijkers community. Their legacy can be found in North Jakarta, however, there are few traces of their descendants, except for a small community in Kampung Tugu.

The historic province of Bataan which was founded in 1754 under the administration of Spanish Governor-General Pedro Manuel Arandia, absorbed from the province of Pampanga the municipalities of Abucay, Balanga (now a city), Dinalupihan, Llana Hermosa, Orani, Orion, Pilar, and Samal. During the British occupation of Manila (1762–1764), Bacolor became the provisional Spanish colonial capital and military base. By the end of the 1700s, Pampanga had 16,604 native families and 2,641 Spanish Filipino families,ESTADISMO DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS TOMO SEGUNDO By Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga (Original Spanish)
/ref> and 870 Chinese Filipino families.

The old Pampanga towns of Aliaga, Cabiao, Gapan, San Antonio and San Isidro were ceded to the province of Nueva Ecija in 1848 during the term of Spanish Governor-General Narciso Claveria y Zaldua. The municipality of ''San Miguel de Mayumo'' of Pampanga was yielded to the province of Bulacan in the same provincial boundary configuration in 1848.

In 1860, the northern towns of Bamban, Capas, Concepcion, Victoria, Tarlac, Mabalacat, Magalang, Porac and Floridablanca were separated from Pampanga and were placed under the jurisdiction of a military command called ''Comandancia Militar de Tarlac''. However, in 1873, the four latter towns were returned to Pampanga and the other five became municipalities of the newly created Province of Tarlac.

Japanese invasion era

On December 8, 1941, Japanese planes bombed Clark Air Base marking the beginning of the invasion of Pampanga. Between 1941 and 1942, occupying Japanese forces began entering Pampanga.

During the counter-insurgencies under the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1944, Kapampangan guerrilla fighters and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas fought side by side in the province of Pampanga, attacking and retreating the Japanese Imperial forces for over three years of fighting and invasion.

The establishment of the military general headquarters and military camp bases of the Philippine Commonwealth Army was active from 1935 to 1946. The Philippine Constabulary was active from 1935 to 1942 and 1944 to 1946 in the province of Pampanga. During the military engagements of the anti-Japanese Imperial military operations in central Luzon from 1942 to 1945 in the province of Bataan, Bulacan, Northern Tayabas (now Aurora), Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales, the local guerrilla resistance fighters and Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas, helped the U.S. military forces fight the Imperial Japanese armed forces.

In the 1945 liberation of Pampanga, Kapampangan guerrilla fighters and the Hukbalahap Communist guerrillas supported combat forces from Filipino and American ground troops in attacking Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Pampanga until the end of the Second World War. Local military operations soldiers and officers of the Philippine Commonwealth Army 2nd, 26th, 3rd, 32nd, 33rd, 35th, 36th and 37th Infantry Division and the Philippine Constabulary 3rd Constabulary Regiment recaptured and liberated the province of Pampanga and fought against the Japanese Imperial forces during the Battle of Pampanga.

Postwar Era

After the Second World War, operations in the main province of Pampanga was downfall insurgencies and conflicts between the Philippine Government forces and the Hukbalahap Communist rebels on 1946 to 1954 during the Hukbalahap Rebellion.

Under a 1947 Military Bases Agreement, the Philippines granted the United States a 99-year lease on several U.S. bases, including Clark Air Base. A later amendment in 1966 reduced the original 99-year term of the agreement to 25 years. A renewal of the agreement in 1979 allowed the U.S. to continue operating Clark Air Base until November 1991, when the Philippine Senate rejected a bill for the renewal of U.S. bases in the Philippines.

During the Marcos dictatorship

Due to its proximity to the capital and the presence of Clark Air Base, Pampanga was became one of the flashpoint of social upheavals of the early 1970s, and the ensuing dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Even during the first demonstrations of the First Quarter Storm in 1970, Clark and the other US Bases in the Philippines were a major issue for protesters, who saw them as a continuation of the US' colonial hegemony, and a way of dragging the Philippines into the cold war, since Clark had become a staging point for the increasingly unpopular Vietnam War.

Upon the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972, Camp Olivas in the City of San Fernando was designated as one of the four provincial camps to become a Regional Command for Detainees (RECAD). It was designated RECAD I and it housed detainees from Northern and Central Luzon. Prominent detainees imprisoned there include Edicio de la Torre, Judy Taguiwalo, Tina Pargas, Marie Hilao-Enriquez, and Bernard-Adan Ebuen. Prisoners who were documented to have been tortured include the sisters Joanna and Josefina Cariño, the brothers Romulo and Armando Palabay, and Mariano Giner Jr of Abra. About 50 Kalinga and Bontoc leaders, including Butbut tribe leader Macli-ing Dulag, were also brought to Camp Olivas from their detainment center in Tabuk, Kalinga, arrested for their opposition to the Chico River Dam Project. Seminarian Teresito Sison had campaigned for the rights of teachers, farmers, and of laborers in Clark Air Base, but torture during two stints in Marcos' detention centers caused a decline in his health which led to his death in 1980.

Others were killed without being arrested, such as close friends Pepito Deheran, Rolando Castro and Lito Cabrera were sleeping in Cabrera's property in Sapang Bato, Angeles when they were attacked, captured, and tortured by Marcos' Civilian Home Defense Force militia forces after they participated in the protest movement that grew out of the assassination of opposition leader Ninoy Aquino. Deheran managed to escape the ordeal alive and was taken to the hospital, but was stabbed by unknown assailants in his own hospital bed.

Jose B. Lingad, Congressman for Pampanga's 1st congressional district, had been one of the first to be detained upon the declaration of Martial Law, but was released after three months. He retired to his farm after that, but was later convinced by Benigno Aquino Jr. to run for the governorship of Pampanga in the January 1980 Philippine local elections. Estelito Mendoza was declared the winner of the election, but Lingad filed a protest, which was still ongoing when Lingad was assassinated in December 1980 at a gasoline station in barangay San Agustin, San Fernando, Pampanga. His assassin, a former sargeant in the Philippine Constabulary, was himself killed in a mysterious car accident before he could reveal who had ordered the killing.

Jennifer Cariño, the Palabay brothers, Macli-ing Dulag, Castro, Cabrera, and Deheran would later be honored by having their names inscribed on the wall of remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who dared to resist the dictatorship.

Mount Pinatubo eruption and closure of Clark Air Base

Major events that took place in Pampanga after the People Power revolution include the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the end of the Philippines' Bases Treaty with the United States, which resulted in the closure of Clark Air Base and the later creation of the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone.

The June 15, 1991, eruption of Mount Pinatubo displaced a large number of people with the submersion of whole towns and villages by massive lahar floods. This led to a large-scale advancement in disaster preparation in government. It also hastened the closure of Clark Air Base, which would close as a result of the November 1991 decision of the Philippine senate not to renew the Philippines' Bases treaty with the United States.

Creation of the Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone

1992 saw the signing of the Bases Conversion and Development Act (Republic Act 7227 ser. 1992), which authorized the President to issue a decree converting the military reservation in the Clark area covering Angeles City, Mabalacat, and Porac, Pampanga and Capas, Tarlac into a special economic zone. The legislation also created the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) to facilitate the conversion process. President Fidel Ramos issued Proclamation No. 163 on April 3, 1993, creating the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) and transferring the administration of the area to the BCDA. The proclamation included the Clark Air Base and portions of the Clark reverted baselands not reserved for military use to the CSEZ. On June 14, 1996, the CSEZ was expanded with the addition of the Sacobia area, which includes lands from Mabalacat, Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac, through Ramos' Proclamation No. 805.

The Clark Air Base area would later be declared a Freeport Zone and was separated from the special economic zone through Republic Act 9400 of 2007 Since then the Freeport Zone and the Clark Special Economic Zone were considered as separate areas but collectively they are referred to as the "Clark Freeport and Special Economic Zone".

Contemporary

In 2010, a Kapampangan, Benigno Aquino III, son of former President Corazon Aquino, was elected as president.

On April 22, 2019, the province suffered severe damage due to 6.1 magnitude earthquake which originated from Zambales and was the most affected area by the earthquake due to the province sitting on soft sediment and alluvial soil. Several structures in the province were damaged by the quake, including a 4-story supermarket in Porac, the Bataan-Pampanga boundary arch and the main terminal of Clark International Airport, as well as old churches in Lubao and Porac, where the stone bell tower of the 19th-century Santa Catalina de Alejandria Church collapsed.

Geography

Pampanga covers a total area of occupying the south-central section of the Central Luzon region. When Angeles is included for geographical purposes, the province's area is . The province is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, Manila Bay to the central-south, Bataan to the southwest, and Zambales to the northwest.

Its terrain is relatively flat with one distinct mountain, Mount Arayat and the notable Pampanga River. Among its municipalities, Porac has the largest area with ; Candaba comes in second with ; followed by Floridablanca with . Santo Tomas, with an area of only , is the smallest.

Climate

The province of Pampanga has two distinct climates, rainy and dry. The rainy or wet season normally begins in May and runs through October, while the rest of the year is the dry season. The warmest period of the year occurs between March and April, while the coolest period is from December through February. The wet season will be from June to October and also the dry season
will be from November to April in the province of Pampanga.

Administrative divisions

Pampanga comprises 19 municipalities and three cities (two highly urbanized and one component).

The province is divided into three parts. The western portion includes the municipalities of Porac and Floridablanca, the component city of Mabalacat, and the highly urbanized city of Angeles. The central part consists of the municipalities of Magalang, Arayat, Mexico, Santa Ana, Bacolor, Santa Rita, Guagua, Lubao, Sasmuan, and the highly urbanized city of San Fernando. The eastern half is composed of the municipalities of Candaba, San Luis, Santo Tomas, San Simon, Minalin, Apalit, Macabebe, and Masantol.

Demographics

Population

The population of Pampanga in the 2020 census was 2,437,709 people, with a density of . If Angeles is included for geographical purposes, the population is 2,900,637, with a density of . The native inhabitants of Pampanga are generally referred to as the Kapampangans (alternatively ''Pampangos'' or ''Pampangueños''). Tagalogs live in areas on the boundaries with Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, & Bataan; they are mostly descendants of settlers arrived from those provinces, w/ others from Aurora. Because of its proximity to Metro Manila from its south, people from farther provinces settled in Pampanga, resulting to minor populations of Bicolano, Ilocano, Ilonggo, Pangasinense and Visayans, mostly living in city areas.

Languages

The whole population of Pampanga speak Kapampangan, which is one of the Central Luzon languages along with the Sambalic languages. Tagalog is generally spoken in areas bordering Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Bataan. English and Tagalog are rather spoken and used as secondary languages. There are a few Sambal speakers in the province, especially near the border of Zambales.

Religion

Catholicism

The province of Pampanga is composed of many religious groups, but it is predominantly Roman Catholic (88.92%).

Islam

Islam (0.017%) is also present in the province, mainly due to migrants originating from the south, as well as Buddhism, which is practiced by a few people of Chinese descent.

Iglesia Ni Cristo

Largest majority religion in the province (5.14-7.5%) the first
Ecclesiastical District in the history of the Church.At the time of Bro.Eduardo V.Manalo current Executive Minister the province has grown in 5 districts with multiple locales scattered in the cities and municipalities .

Others

According to 2010 Census, other prominent Christian groups includes Evangelicals (1.34%), Aglipayan Church (0.60%), Jesus is Lord Church (0.48%), Baptist Church (0.39%), Jehovah's Witnesses (0.27%), Church of Christ (0.23%), United Church of Christ in the Philippines (0.22%), Seventh-day Adventist Church (0.18%) and many others.

Economy

Farming and fishing are the two main industries. Major products include rice, corn, sugarcane, and tilapia. Pampanga is the tilapia capital of the country because of its high production reaching 214,210.12 metric tons in 2015. In addition to farming and fishing, the province supports thriving cottage industries that specialize in wood carving, furniture making, guitars and handicrafts. Every Christmas season, the province of Pampanga, especially in the capital city of San Fernando becomes the center of a thriving industry centered on handcrafted lighted lanterns called ''parols'' that display a kaleidoscope of light and color. Other industries include its casket industry and the manufacturing of all-purpose vehicles in the municipality of Santo Tomas.

The province is famous for its sophisticated culinary work: it is called the "food capital" of the Philippines.

In December 2024, the Senate declared Pampanga as the country's culinary capital. The Senate approved on Third Reading Senate Bill 2797, authored by Senators Mark Villar, Loren Legarda and Lito Lapid. Its counterpart, authored by Representatives Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Aurelio Gonzales Jr. had also been approved by the House of Representatives.

Kapampangans are well known for their culinary creations. Famous food products range from the mundane to the exotic. Roel's Meat Products, Pampanga's Best and Mekeni Food are among the better known meat brands of the country producing Kapampangan favorites such as pork and chicken tocinos, beef tapa, hotdogs, longganizas (Philippine-style cured sausages) and chorizos.

Specialty foods such as the siopao, pandesal, tutong, lechon (roasted pig) and its sarsa (sauce) are popular specialty foods in the region. The more exotic ''betute tugak'' (stuffed frog), ''kamaru'' (mole crickets) cooked adobo, ''bulanglang'' (pork cooked in guava juice), '' lechon kawali'' and '' bringhe'' (a green sticky rice dish like paella) are a mainstay in Kapampangan feasts.

Native sweets and delicacies like pastillas, turonnes de casuy, buro, are the most sought after by Filipinos including a growing number of tourists who enjoy authentic Kapampangan cuisine. The famous cookie in Mexico, Pampanga, ''Panecillos de San Nicolas'', which is known as the mother of all Philippine cookies, is made here, famously made by Lillian Borromeo at her restaurant, Kusinang Matua. The cookies are made with arrowroot, sugar, coconut milk and butter and are blessed in Catholic parishes every year on the feast of San Nicolas Tolentino. The cookies are believed to have a healing power and bestow good luck and are sometimes crumbled then thrown into rice fields before planting.

Tourism is a growing industry in the province of Pampanga. Clark Freeport Zone is home to Clark International Airport, designated as the Philippines' future premier gateway. Other developing industries include semiconductor manufacturing for electronics and computers mostly located within the freeport.

Within the Clark Special Economic Zone are well-established hotels and resorts. Popular tourist destinations include St. Peter Shrine in Apalit, Mt. Arayat National Park in San Juan Bano, Mount Arayat, the Paskuhan Village in the City of San Fernando, the Casino Filipino in Angeles and, for nature and wildlife, "Paradise Ranch and Zoocobia Fun Zoo" in Clark. Well-known annual events include the Giant Lantern Festival in December, the hot air balloon festival in Clarkfield in February and in Lubao in April, the San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites celebrated two days before Easter, and the Aguman Sanduk in Minalin celebrated on the afternoon of New Year's Day.

Boat culture

There have been proposals to revitalize the karakoa shipbuilding tradition of the Kapampangan people in recent years. The karakoa was the warship of the Kapampangan from the classical eras (before 15th century) up to the 16th century. The production of the karakoa and its usage were stopped by the Spanish colonialists to establish the galleon ship-making tradition instead, as a sign of Spanish dominance over the Kapampangan.

Wildlife

Pampanga's geography has made the province an important rallying point for biodiversity conservation, particularly in the case of the Candaba Wetlands which provides critical habitat for migratory bird species which visit the Philippines from sites further north in Asia. Migratory birds frequently seen in the swamp include the Shrenck’s Bittern, the Great Bittern, the Eurasian Spoonbill, the Purple Swamp Hen, the Chinese Pond Heron and the Black-Crowned Heron.

Infrastructure

Telecommunication

Telephone services are provided by PLDT, Digitel, Converge Telecom, Datelcom, the Evangelista Telephone Company, and the Pampanga Telecom Company in the town of Macabebe. The province has 24 public telegraph offices distributed among its towns while the facilities of PT&T and RCPI were set up to serve the business centers in Angeles, San Fernando City and Guagua.

Several Internet Service provider are available. These include the Angeles Computer Network Specialist, Information Resources Network System, Inc., Mosaic communications Inc., Net Asia Angeles, Phil World On Line and Comclark Network and Technology Corp.

United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (FedEx) provide international courier services. Their hubs are in the Clark Freeport Zone. They are complemented by four local couriers operating as the communication and baggage of the province. There are three postal district offices and 35 post office stations distributed in the 20 municipalities and two cities of the province.

Water and power

Potable water supply in the province reaches the populace through three levels namely: Level I (point source system), Level II (communal faucet system), and Level III (individual connections). A well or spring is the pinpointed water source in areas where houses are few as the system is only designed to serve 15 to 25 households. As of 1997, there were 128,571 Level I water system users in the province. The communal faucet system (Level II) serves the rural areas while the Level III system is managed by the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA). The system provides individual house connections to all second and first class private subdivisions.

Electric power is distributed to the majority of the towns through the distribution centers of the Pampanga Electric Cooperative (PELCO) which include PELCO I, II, III. Small parts of Candaba and Macabebe are also supplied by Manila Electric Company (Meralco). Angeles and small parts of Mabalacat are supplied by Angeles Electric Corporation (AEC) Villa de Bacolor, Guagua, Sta, Rita, Lubao, Sasmuan, Porac, Mabalacat and small part of Floridablanca are supplied by Pampanga Electric Cooperative II (PELCO II). City of San Fernando and Floridablanca is supplied by San Fernando Electric Company (SFELAPCO).

Power is also transmitted to the province through various transmission lines and substations located within the province, such as the Mexico and Clark substations, and Hermosa–Duhat–Balintawak, Mexico–Hermosa, Hermosa–San Jose transmission lines, etc., all of which are operated and maintained by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Transportation

The province of Pampanga is strategically located at the crossroads of central Luzon and is highly accessible by air and land. The province is home to two airstrips: Basa Air Base in Floridablanca, which is used by the military, and Clark International Airport in Clark Freeport Zone. Pampanga has five municipal ports that function as fish landing centers. These are in the municipalities of Guagua, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, and Sasmuan.

Road transport

Land travel to Pampanga is provided by highways and by buses. Buses that travel the routes of Manila-Bataan, Manila-Zambales, Manila-Tarlac, Manila-Nueva Ecija, Manila-Bulacan-Pampanga, and Manila-Pampanga-Dagupan serve as connections with the nearby provinces and Metro Manila.

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) extends from Balintawak in Quezon City, Metro Manila, to Santa Ines in Mabalacat. It passes through the cities and municipalities of Apalit, San Simon, Santo Tomas, San Fernando, Mexico, Angeles City, and ends on Santa Ines in Mabalacat.

The four-lane Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) to date, is the longest toll expressway in the Philippines. Its southern terminus is in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and passes through the Clark Freeport Zone in two interchanges: Clark North and Clark South. The expressway is linked to the North Luzon Expressway through the Mabalacat Interchange. Its northern terminus is located at the Central Techno Park in Tarlac City, Tarlac.

Aside from the expressways, national highways also serve the province. Two major national highways serves Pampanga, the MacArthur Highway (N2) and Jose Abad Santos Avenue (N3). Secondary and tertiary national roads, and provincial roads complement the highway backbone.

Sports

Pampanga is home to notable sports personalities, including billiards player Efren "Bata" Reyes as well as basketball players Japeth Aguilar and Arwind Santos.

The province is also home to the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, which began play in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) during the 2018–19 season. The franchise has won two league championships, one in the MPBL and one in the Pilipinas Super League. The province also hosted the Pampanga Dragons of the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), who were also the league's inaugural champions.

Government and politics

Like other provinces in the Philippines, Pampanga is governed by a governor and vice governor who are elected to three-year terms. The governor is the executive head and leads the province's departments in executing the ordinances and improving public services. The vice governor heads a legislative council (Sangguniang Panlalawigan) consisting of board members from the districts.

Provincial government

Just as the national government, the provincial government is divided into three branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The judicial branch is administered solely by the Supreme Court of the Philippines. The LGUs have control of the executive and legislative branches.

The executive branch is composed of the governor for the province, mayors for the cities and municipalities, and the barangay captains for the barangays. The provincial assembly for the provinces, Sangguniang Panlungsod (city assembly) for the cities, Sangguniang Bayan (town assembly) for the municipalities, Sangguniang Barangay (barangay council), and the Sangguniang Kabataan for the youth sector.

The seat of government is vested upon the governor and other elected officers who hold office at the Provincial Capitol building. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan is the center of legislation.

The Provincial government is composed of a Governor as the Local Chief Executive of the Province, Vice-Governor and Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. The governor is Dennis "Delta" G. Pineda ( NPC) and the vice governor is Lilia Pineda (Kambilan).

Court system

The Supreme Court of the Philippines recognizes Pampanga regional trial courts and metropolitan or municipal trial courts within the province and towns, that have an overall jurisdiction in the populace of the province and towns, respectively.

Batas Pambansa Blg. 129, "The Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980", as amended, created Regional, Metropolitan, Municipal Trial and Circuit Courts. The Third Judicial Region includes RTCs in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Palayan and San Jose, inter alia:
xxx. There shall be – (c) Seventy-five Regional Trial judges shall be commissioned for the Third Judicial Region: Twenty-two branches (Branches XLI to LXII) for the province of Pampanga and the city of Angeles, Branches XLI to XLVIII with seats at San Fernando, Branches XLIX to LIII at Guagua, Branches LIV and LV at Macabebe, and Branches LVI to LXII at Angeles;

The law also created Metropolitan Trial Court in each metropolitan area established by law, a Municipal Trial Court in each of the other cities or municipalities, and a Municipal Circuit Trial Court in each circuit comprising such cities and/or municipalities as are grouped together pursuant to law: three branches for Cabanatuan; in every city which does not form part of a metropolitan area, there shall be a Municipal Trial Court with one branch, except as hereunder provided: Three branches for Angeles;

In each of the municipalities that are not comprised within a metropolitan area and a municipal circuit there shall be a Municipal Trial Court which shall have one branch, except as hereunder provided: Four branches for San Fernando and two branches for Guagua, both of Pampanga.

Mayors

Notable people

Within the province jurisdiction

National heroes and historical personalities

* José Alejandrino - born in Arayat, Philippine Revolutionary General and former senator.
* Mamerto Natividad - born in Bacolor, Philippine Revolutionary General.
* Servillano Aquino - Philippine Revolutionary General and member of Malolos Congress for Samar
* Nicolasa Dayrit Panlilio - Filipina non-combatant in the Philippine–American War known for helping to minister the sick and wounded Filipino combatants.
* Práxedes Fajardo – Filipina revolutionary and head of the Pampangan section of the Philippine Red Cross during the anticolonial armed struggles against Spain and the United States.
* José Abad Santos – born in San Fernando, Pampanga, the 5th chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
* Pedro Abad Santos – a former assemblyman and founder of the Aguman ding Talapagobra ning Pilipinas.
* Luis Taruc – leader of the Hukbalahap group (from ''Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon'') between 1942 and 1950.Taruc, L., 1967, ''He Who Rides the Tiger'', London: Geoffrey Chapman Ltd.
* Casto Alejandrino – peasant leader and commander of the Hukbalahap.
* Vivencio Cuyugan – former mayor of San Fernando, and one of the founders of the guerrilla group Hukbalahap
* Remedios Gomez-Paraiso – known as ''Kumander Liwayway'', a celebrated commander of the Hukbalahap.

Politics and Government

* Diosdado Pangan Macapagal – 9th president of the Republic of the Philippines and a native of Lubao, Pampanga.
* Gloria Macapagal Arroyo – 14th president of the Republic of the Philippines. She is the daughter of the 9th president of the Republic Diosdado Macapagal.
* Rogelio dela Rosa – former Philippine senator and actor, native of Lubao, Pampanga.
* Pablo Ángeles y David – former Philippine senator and former Governor of Pampanga
* Sotero Baluyut – former Philippine senator and former Governor of Pampanga
* Antonio Villa-Real – 25th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
* Vicente Abad Santos – 96th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, 39th Secretary of the Department of Justice
* Amando Tetangco Jr. – born in Apalit, Pampanga is a Filipino banker, who served as the third Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He was the first BSP governor to serve two terms.
* Jose B. Lingad – former Governor of Pampanga and 15th Secretary of the Department of the Labor and Employment, native of Lubao, Pampanga.
* Francisco Tongio Liongson - medical doctor and politician.
* Pedro Tongio Liongson – lawyer, judge, and politician; born on January 31, 1865, in Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga.
* Eddie Panlilio – born in Minalin, Pampanga, was the first Filipino priest to be elected governor in Philippine history.
* Satur Ocampo - politician, activist, journalist, and writer. Former Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for Bayan Muna Partylist
* Oscar Albayalde – A police officer, former chief of the Philippine National Police and former director of the National Capital Police Office, born in San Fernando.
* Mercedes Arrastia-Tuason – Philippine diplomat and former ambassador to the Holy See
* Oscar Samson Rodriguez - politician and lawyer. He served as the mayor of San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippines from 2004 until his third term in 2013.
* Rey Aquino - politician and surgeon who is the last municipal Mayor of San Fernando and its first Mayor when it became a city.
* Edwin Santiago - politician and professional mechanical engineer who served as the mayor of City of San Fernando, Pampanga from 2013 until 2022.
* Lito Lapid - actor, politician and senator (2004–2016; 2019–present)
* Yeng Guiao - basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He was also the Vice Governor of the Province of Pampanga from 2004 to 2013 and congressman, representing the 1st District of Pampanga from 2013 to 2016.

Culinary Arts

* Lucia Cunanan – restaurateur best known for having invented or at least re-invented sisig, a popular Kapampangan dish in the Philippines and Filipino diasporas worldwide.
* Larry Cruz – restaurateur who founded the LJC Restaurant Group, which operates several restaurants in the Philippines. Among the restaurants in the said group include ''Café Adriatico'', ''Cafe Havana'', ''Bistro Remedios'', and ''Abe'', which was named after his father, the writer E. Aguilar Cruz.

Journalism and Media

* Amando G. Dayrit – pre-war columnist and journalist
* Orly Punzalan – a veteran radio-TV broadcaster and former president of Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC-13), born and raised in Apalit.
* Kristine Johnson – Filipino-American co-anchor at WCBS-TV, born in Clark Air Base.
* Ivan Mayrina – broadcaster, journalist, reporter and news anchor.
* Jay Sonza - blogger and a former newscaster and talk show host.
* Kara David - journalist, host, professor, and educational administrator.
* Randy David – sociologist, public intellectual, and board of directors of the Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN Corporation.

Literature and arts

* Aurelio Tolentino – original member of the Katipunan and nationalist playwright, born in Guagua.
* Julian Manansala – film studio founder and director. Called the "Father of Philippine Nationalist Films".
* Vicente Manansala – National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts – Painting, native of Macabebe.
* Angela Manalang-Gloria - pioneer Filipina poet who wrote in English, born in Guagua.
* Zoilo Galang - credited as one of the pioneering Filipino writers who worked with the English language. He is the author of the first Philippine novel written in the English language, '' A Child of Sorrow'', published in 1921.
* Zoilo Hilario - poet, playwright, lawyer, politician and linguist.
* Galo Ocampo – modernist painter
* Francisco Alonso Liongson – playwright. Born on July 1, 1896, in Villa de Bacolor, Pampanga.
* Norma Belleza – painter
* Danton Remoto – writer
* Fernando Ocampo - architect and civil engineer

Sciences

* Alfredo C. Santos – National Scientist of the Philippines for Physical Chemistry, from Santo Tomas, Pampanga

Religious leaders

* Francisco Baluyot – born in Guagua, Pampanga broke barriers by becoming the 1st known indio priest, who, upon ordination in 1698, was assigned to the archdiocese of Cebu.
* Rufino Jiao Santos – born in Guagua, Pampanga, Archbishop of Manila from 1953 to 1973. The first Filipino Cardinal.
* Pablo Virgilio David – born in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kalookan, Tenth Filipino Cardinal.
* Pedro Paulo Santos – born in Porac, Pampanga, First Parish Priest of Calulut, assigned as Parish Priest of Angeles City, appointed as bishop of Nueva Caceres in 1938 then as its first archbishop on 1951.
* Florentino Lavarias – born in Mabalacat, Pampanga, Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando and formerly the fourth Bishop of the Diocese of Iba, Zambales
* Honesto Ongtioco – born in San Fernando, Pampanga, second bishop of Balanga from April 8, 1998 to August 28, 2003, and first Bishop of Cubao from August 28, 2003 to December 3, 2024
* Paciano Aniceto – born in Santa Ana, Pampanga, Archbishop Emeritus Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Fernando and former second Bishop of the Diocese of Iba, Zambales
* Roberto Mallari – born in Macabebe, Pampanga, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in Nueva Ecija
* Victor Ocampo – born in Angeles, Pampanga, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Gumaca
* Crisostomo Yalung – born in Angeles, Pampanga, Bishop Emeritus of Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo, Retired in 2002
* Martha de San Bernardo – 17th-century Colettine Poor Clare who was first Filipino woman to become a Roman Catholic nun; she served on Macao.Pascual Jr., Federico D. Religious Firsts, Postscript, ABS-CBN Interactive, ABS-CBNNews.com, March 06, 2007
retrieved on: June 23, 2007
* Eliseo Soriano – televangelist of Ang Dating Daan and the Over-all Servant of Members Church of God International which its main headquarters is located in Apalit, Pampanga.
* Apollo C. Quiboloy – born in Davao City to Kapampangan parents from Lubao, Pampanga. Founder of a Christian religious group called Kingdom of Jesus Christ in 1985. Proclaiming himself as the "Appointed Son of God", he spent his early childhood in his parents' home province before returning to Davao.

Entertainment

* Jaime dela Rosa – a matinee idol in the 1950s of Lubao, Pampanga.
* Brillante Mendoza – Filipino film director from San Fernando, Pampanga.
* Carlo J. Caparas Filipino film director
* Jason Paul Laxamana – Filipino film director and writer
* Petersen Vargas – Filipino film director and writer
* Lea Salonga – singer and actress, spent the first six years of her childhood in Angeles before moving to Manila.
* Pepe Smith – singer and member of Juan de la Cruz Band
* Sheena Halili – model and actress from San Fernando.
* Vanessa Minnillo – American television personality born in Clark Air Base, Angeles, and raised in the US.
* Allan Pineda Lindo, also known as apl.de.ap – founding member of The Black Eyed Peas, born in Sapang Bato, Angeles.
* Donita Rose – Filipino-American actress, lived in Angeles City for a few years.
* Kelsey Merritt – Filipino-American model best known for being the first woman of Filipino descent to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and to appear in the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
* Ritz Azul - dramatic actress.
* Baron Geisler - actor.
* Hermes Bautista - actor.
* Joey Marquez - ex politician, comedy actor.
* Sheena Halili - actress.

Pageantry

* Melanie Marquez – crowned Miss International 1979.
* Carla Balingit - crowned Binibining Pilipinas - Universe 2003.
* Laura Marie Dunlap - crowned Miss Philippines Earth 2003.
* Angela Fernando - crowned Miss Eco Tourism Philippines 2010
* Ann Colis – crowned Miss Globe 2015.
* Emma Tiglao – crowned Binibining Pilipinas - Intercontinental 2019.
* Michelle Dee – crowned Miss World Philippines 2019.
* Francesca Taruc - crowned Miss Tourism World Intercontinental 2019

Sports

* Efren "Bata" Reyes – billiards player from Angeles.
* Ato Agustin – Filipino professional basketball player and coach, from Lubao, Pampanga.
* Jayson Castro – Filipino professional basketball player from Guagua, Pampanga.
* Japeth Aguilar – Filipino professional basketball player from Sasmuan, Pampanga.
* Arwind Santos – Filipino professional basketball player from Lubao, Pampanga.
* Calvin Abueva – Filipino professional basketball player from Angeles.
* Justine Baltazar – Filipino professional basketball player from Mabalacat, Pampanga.
* Ian Sangalang - Filipino professional basketball player from Lubao, Pampanga
* Michael Miranda - Filipino professional basketball player from Santa, Ana, Pampanga.
* Russel Escoto - Filipino professional basketball player from Angeles.
* Norman Gonzales - Filipino professional basketball player from Magalang.
* JC Intal - Filipino professional basketball player from Minalin, Pampanga.
* Mark Macapagal - Filipino professional basketball player from Macabebe, Pampanga.
* Victonara Galang – Filipino volleyball athlete from Angeles.
* Diana Mae Carlos – Filipino volleyball athlete from Lubao, Pampanga.
* Donald Geisler - taekwondo athlete

Outside the province jurisdiction (highly-urbanized city of Angeles)

References

External links

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Local Governance Performance Management System

{{Authority control

Provinces of the Philippines
Provinces of Central Luzon
States and territories established in 1571
1571 establishments in the Philippines