Introduction

Region III is the largest contiguous area of lowland in the country. Technically,  it lies between latitudes 120 and 160 north of the equator and between longitudes of 120 and 121. It has a land area of 2,201,463  hectares.   Nueva Ecija province occupies the biggest land area while Bataan peninsula has the smallest land holding.

Central Luzon Region is located north of Manila, the nation’s capital. Bordering the region are the regions of Ilocos, Cordillera Administrative Region and Cagayan Valley regions to the north; National Capital Region and CALABARZON to the south; and of waters of Manila bay to the south; South China Sea to the west; and The Philippine Sea to the east.

Region 3 is composed of seven (7) provinces, 14 cities, 116 municipalities and 3, 102 barangays.  The provinces are  Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija,   Pampanga, Tarlac,  and  Zambales.   The fourteen (14) cities include Balanga in Bataan; Malolos, Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte in Bulacan; Cabanatuan, Gapan, Muñoz, Palayan and San Jose in Nueva Ecija; Angeles, Mabalacat and San Fernando in Pampanga; Tarlac City in Tarlac; and Olongapo City in Zambales.   Aurora was transferred from Region IV through Executive Order No. 103  on May 2002.  The City of San Fernando, in Pampanga, is the regional center.

Central Luzon produces the most rice in the whole country. Excess rice is delivered and imported to other provinces of the Philippines. The saucer-shaped Pampanga River basin waters all the fertile valleys in Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, and part of Tarlac, while the Agno River drains the northern portion of the region.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Legal Mandates
• Department Order No. 38, s. 1974, provides for the temporary designation of the Officer-In-Charge  of Regional Office III Felicita G. Bernardino vice Anastacio Ramento
• Department Memorandum No. 52, s. 1975,  Implementation of the Department of Education and Culture Reorganization Plan
• Full implementation of the Department of Education and Culture Reorganization Plan by His Excellency,  President Ferdinand E. Marcos, effective June 22, 1975.
• Deployment Order per RA 6551 on or before May 31, 1975 of affected personnel and to assume their functions in their new assignment not later than June 30, 1975. The setup of the field offices consist of the following:

1. Director
2. Assistant Director
3. Promotional Division: EED, SED and HED
4. Administration: Administrative Division
5. Budget and Finance Division

• The Department of Education Regional Office III was established on July 1, 1975 and for barely two(2)  months, it held office at the San Fernando Elementary School in San Fernando, Pampanga. Through the leadership of Director Felicita G. Bernardino, the first Regional Director, the regional office building was constructed at the Capitol Compound in San Fernando, Pampanga.
• The regional office was headed by the following Regional Directors from 1975 to 2018s with the incumbent  Officer-In-Charge, Office of the Regional Director:

• The Regional Office was transferred to RELC, Pulungbulu, Angeles City from October 1, 1995 to November 14, 1997 when Mt. Pinatubo erupted in June 1991 and wrought havoc to Central Luzon. On November 15, 1997, the regional office moved to its present location, a newly constructed building at the Government Center, Maimpis, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The construction of the new building was made possible through the efforts of Director Stephen N. Capuyan.
• DepED Order No. 52, s. 2016  New Organizational Structures of the Central, Regional and Schools Division Offices of the Department of Education “  as a result of the Rationalization Program (EO 366) and to assume office functions in the rationalized structure until the end of December 2015.