Paradise Philippines

The average number of children born to ever-married women in Central Luzon was 3, while Angeles City and Olongapo City had 2. In Zambales, 2.62 percent of ever-married women had 8 or more children ever born, while Tarlac got 2.44 percent.

In 2000, more than half (54.61 percent) of 135, 802 overseas workers were males. Female overseas workers had a median age of 29 years, while male had 36 years.

For source of lighting, 87.38 percent of the households used elecyricity, 8.81 percent used kerosene or gaas, and 1.01 percent used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). In Angeles City, 93.83 percent used electricity. In Bulacan, 93.82 percent also used electricity, while in Zamabales, 78.93 percent, the lowest in Central Luzon.

For cooking, 67.94 percent of households used liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as fuel, 14.05 percent used wood, and only 2.95 percent used electricity.

For toilet facility, 48.68 percent of the households used exclusively water sealed, sewer/septic tank; 22 percent used water sealed, other depository; 5.68 percent used closed pit; and 3.45 percent did not use any toilet facility.

To have a good environment and good health, proper disposal of garbage is a must. Around 51 percent of the households in Central Luzon used burning, 36.35 percent used garbage truck picking up, and 7.15 percent used dumping in individual pit. The usual manner of garbage disposal was through picked up by garbage truck in Olongapo City with 86.45 percent, Angeles City with 83.03 percent, and Bataan with 57.75 percent. In all other provinces in Central Luzon, the usual manner of garbage disposal was through burning.

For housing units, 75.77 percent of the households owned/amortized their houses, 10.87 percent occupied their housing units for free with consent of owner, and 8.40 percent rented their housing units.

Mount Pinatubo, a dormant volcano for over 600 years, began erupting on June 9, 1991 and changed the landscape of the Central Luzon plains, particularly of the adjacent provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales. Agricultural lands were covered with ash and mud to deep to be plowed under. The coral in surrounding waters was silted and dying and the population of fish decreased rapidly. Smaller trees, shrubs, herbs and forage for animals started dying under the load of volcanic sand and ash.

Expert volcanologists estimated that Mount Pinatubo gave out two cubic kilometers of volcanic debris including rock, sand, ash and other materials in the major eruptions after June 9, 1991.