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On the western tip of the Pacific lies the Republic of the Philippines. The country is bound by Taiwan on the north, Indonesia on the south, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore on the southwest, and Australia and New Zealand farther southeast.
The Philippines is strategically positioned at the crossroads of the Asia Pacific Region, serving as the gateway for European and American enterprises wanting to penetrate Asia.
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The Philippines |
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Composed of over 7,000 islands, the Philippines has a land area of 300,439 square kilometers (116,000 squares miles) populated by almost 80 million people. It is a tropical country endowed with abundant natural resources.
The Philippines is at the threshold of full economic recovery in spite and despite of global and domestic economic crisis brought about by a confluence of factors including terrorism, the war in the Middle East, El Niño drought and other natural plagues.
The country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) managed to grow by 3.4% a bit higher than the official projections of 3.3%. The agriculture sector grew by 3.9% while the gross value in industry and services exhibited 1.9% and 4.3% growth rates respectively. The prospects of economic performances of the country continue to show positive improvements. The sound economic policies of the present administration have brought an environment conducive to growth and employment as more policies are expected to sustain growth and stability in 2003.
Anywhere you go in the country today, you will see signs of growth and development. Especially when you go to Bulacan, a province that bespeak the glory of Philippines history.
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| Central Luzon Region |
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The Province of Bulacan may very well be considered as one of the few provinces in the Philippines that greatly benefit from its geographic location. The province boasts of its strategic location, which is equidistant with the northern and southern parts of Luzon. At the same time, it is proximate and accessible to the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila where most of development impulses originate. Bulacan is one of the seven provinces comprising the Central Luzon Region. It is bounded by the provinces of Aurora and Quezon on the east, Nueva Ecija on the north, Pampanga on the west and Rizal on the southeast and Manila Bay on the southwest.
Dubbed as the "Northern Gateway from Manila," it is in Bulacan where the national trunkline road, Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway, forks in the Cagayan Valley Region in the northeast and towards the rest of North Luzon in the north and northwest. Such accessibility is a key factor that prompted private investors to develop several industrial estates in the province.
Bulacan has also become an important link between the large and consolidated consumer market in Manila and the resource-rich provinces of North Luzon. The province's strategic location is further highlighted in Central Luzon 's regional development as it is expected to play an important role in realizing the "W Growth strategy of the Medium Term Development Plan of the Region."
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| Bulacan Province |
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Bulacan has a total land area of 262,500 hectares or roughly 14 percent of the total area of Central Luzon, the biggest Philippine island, and 0.9% of the country's total land area. The province has 22 municipalities, 2 component cities and 569 barangays. Malolos in the southwestern part is the capital of the province. Of the 22 municipalities and 2 component cities of the province, Doña Remedios Trinidad (DRT) is the biggest municipality having a total land area of about 93,298 hectares or almost 36 percent of the provincial land total. DRT is followed by the municipalities of San Miguel and Norzagaray with land areas representing more than 6 percent of the provincial total. Obando, on the other hand, has the smallest landmass with only 1,458 hectares or 0.56 percent of the entire area of Bulacan.
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