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03-20-2009
OTOP Luzon Island Fair 2008 (OLIF 2008) The One Town One Product (OTOP) Luzon Island Fair, the
biggest among the three OTOP Island fairs is scheduled to be held at SM Megamall from July 9 to 13, 2008. The
fair is to be opened on the morning of the first day with no less than the President, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as
the invited guest of honor.The fair, one of the major activities lined up in celebration of the SME Week for this
year, will showcase the best OTOP products from the 8 participating regions. They will be represented by more
than 140 MSME producers, 36 of whom will be coming from the 7 provinces of Central Luzon with Bulacan, Nueva
Ecija and Pampanga having10, 8 and 6 MSME representatives respectively. Central Luzon’s range of OTOP products
featured will include Processed Foods, Giftwares and Holiday Decors, Wearables and Home Furnishings.
Welcome to Central Luzon!
This region is one of the leading growth regions in the Philippines, strategically located at the heart of Asia. No other place with sea and air travel and cargo facilities could equal Central Luzon in terms of almost equal travel time in Asia (3-4 hours away from neighboring countries) This fast growing and vibrant region which is composed of seven provinces – Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales, - is a placed for investors, tourists, manufacturers, farmers, consumers alike. Only a few kilometers away from the National Capital Region, Central Luzon is the gateway to the northern Luzon regions. It is also the only region in the Philippines that is accessible through three international airports: Clark (now Diosdado Macapagal International Airport or DMIA), Subic and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It is also the only region that accounts for four rays of the sun in the Philippine Flag, symbol of the bravery and patriotism of the region’s provinces that joined the revolution for freedom. These are Bulalca, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga and Tarlac. The region hosts the two expressways that makes travel to the northern/western side of the country faster. These are the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the newly built Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX). Entrepreneurship is a way of life in Central Luzon, particularly in the more progressive provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. The other provinces also have their share of entrepreneurs, which were able to work well with farmers who were able to make use of the fertile land that they were blessed with to produce abundant agricultural products – rice, corn, lowland vegetables, sweet potatoes, onions, fruits like watermelons and melons, etc. Many of the towns boasts of their own artisans and craftsmen, from whom were borne the various industries that have become the livelihood of many – furniture making, wood carving, blacksmithery, pottery, lantern making, handicrafts, etc. Central Luzon has a population of around 9.72 million people in its 117 towns and 13 cities, in seven provinces. 
Central Luzon has a mixed economy: agricultural and industrial. The principal crops are rice, sugar
cane, maize, melons, vegetables, and bamboo. Industries include food- processing, leather tanning,
textiles, shoemaking, ceramics, chemicals, metals and machinery production. Handicrafts are also made,
and there is much fishing-both fresh-water and salt-water. The region is landlocked and mostly
agricultural. The easternmost soil zone is the biggest, well-drained soil that grows rice, sugar cane,
maize, tobacco, and some minor crops and livestock. To the west, this soil gives way to clay, which is
challenging for agriculture but useful for ceramics and bricks.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
Region 3 or Central Luzon is composed of 7 provinces or about 12 cities and 118 towns, Central Luzon
is one of only regions in the country that spans it shore-to-shore from east to west. The Region
contains the largest plain in the country. The Region produces most of the country's rice supply.
That is why it is called the "Rice Bowl" of the Philippines. Its provinces are: Aurora, Bataan,
Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.
Obando Fertility Rites
Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo materials,
the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan, Philippines wear traditional dance costumes to dance
on the streets followed by the images of their patron saints San Pascual Baylon (St. Paschal), Santa
Clara (St. Clare) and Nuestra Señora de Salambao (Our Lady of Salambao), while singing the song Santa
Clara Pinung-Pino.
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