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Pampanga is a province in Central Luzon most known for their delicious food from hearty dishes such as sisig and tocino to their desserts and delicacies such as Halo-halo, Tibok-tibok, and various "kakanins" or sticky rice cakes. It is also known for its large farmlands and agriculture since it is one of Luzon's main producers of sugarcane, rice, and corn. In recent times, it has also been famous for the Hot Air Balloon Festival and Giant Lantern Festival, and the new Clark Freeport Zone.

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Pampanga is a province in central luzon. It is boredered by Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Manila Bay, Bataan, and Zambales. It has an estimated total population of 2.4 Million people.

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Pampanga is filled with vast open areas of sugarcane fields, rice paddies, vegetable gardens, forested hills, and Mountains such as Mt. Arayat and Mt. Pinatubo.

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Also known as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines" and "Asia's Christmas Capital" by CNN

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It is the capital city of Pampanga named after King Ferdinand IV of Spain, with an estimated population of 350,000. It is most well known for it's churches, the religiousness of the people, business opportunities, malls, and the Giant Lantern Festival.

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One of it's tourist spots, the Holy Rosary Parish Church or "Pisambang Maragul" which means "Big Church"

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Angeles city in pampanga is one of the the cities in Pampanga. It is a 1st Class Highly Urbanized City with an estimated population of 460,000. It is well known for it's old majestic churches, historical buildings and recently it is more known for it's vibrant nightlife and casinos.

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Replica of the 2019 San Fernando Giant Lantern

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The Giant Lantern Festival or "Ligligan Parul" in kapampangan is a yearly festival and contest held every december in pampanga that showcases giant "parols" or christmas lanterns from each of the barangays of the City of San Fernando. It was orginally held to honor President Manuel L. Quezon to show the people's gratitude to the former president and his family. The lanterns nowadays can reach up to 20 feet in size and are fitted with around 5,000 light bulbs.

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Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Medical Center, Pampanga

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As unfortunate it is to say, but the medical facilities available in Pampanga are not really up to par. Most if not all do not have modern equipment and have not updated protocols and procedures. If you had a serious illness such as aneurysm, cancer, etc. you would have to go to Manila for you to be properly treated. The hospitals and clinics present in Pampanga can only cater to the general and basic needs of the community. They aren't equipped to handle complicated cases and they aren't cheap as well. It seems like hospitals there haven't been upgraded since the 1980's; the elevators don't work, the ER is poorly equipped, the beds are old and rusted, the hospitals and clinics are understaffed and they have a lack of medical specialists. Pampanga has to prioritize healthcare because their facilities are in need of rehabilitation and modernization. The province is severely behind on the latest standard for medical care.

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Over the years the fields of Pampanga have slowly been replaced with buildings, infrastructure, and industrial advancements. I have personally seen the decline of the fields over the years. Angeles City used to be full and surrounded by forests and farmlands, now it is one of the highly urbanized cities in Pampanga. It is now full of nightclubs, casinos, KTVs, resorts, and residential villages. The province of Pampanga has to take action to bring back the farmlands and forests for its agriculture and for the safety of its people. The lack of farmlands and forests is a major factor as to why Pampanga keeps getting flooded over the past few years.

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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines - More areas in Central Luzon were submerged in up to 5 feet of water on Sunday as days of incessant southwest monsoon rain continued, affecting over 80,000 persons, authorities said.

Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda on Sunday advised mayors to carry out forced evacuations in areas where floods have reached critical level.

The number of flooded villages in the province rose from 23 at the height of Typhoon "Fabian" (international name: In-fa) on July 22 to 72 as of Sunday, according to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC).

The rising waters have affected 18,039 families, or 84,386 residents, in Pampanga, it said.

The number of affected families was projected to rise as more flooded areas were reported in the provinces of Bulacan and Zambales.

Floodwater, as high as 5 ft in some areas, was reported in Pampanga's towns of Candaba, Masantol, Macabebe, Lubao, Apalit, Guagua, Porac, Sasmuan, Bacolor, Minalin and Sto. Tomas; and this capital city.

Pampanga River overflowed, inundating waterways in Candaba and as far as Zaragoza town in Nueva Ecija province, the PDRRMC said, citing data from the Pampanga River Flood Forecasting Center.

The persistent rains also triggered a landslide at the Apalit riverbanks, and eroded a riverbank of Sapang Balen Creek at Barangay Sta. Rita in Magalang town.

Rising waterways

In Bulacan, almost all 21 towns and cities in the province have been dealing with rising waters, and 303 families (1,076 residents) were evacuated on Sunday as water rose up to 5 ft in some localities due to the week's rains and high tide, according to its PDRRM office.

The 5-ft floods struck Barangay Bulihan in Malolos City while 3-ft water inundated villages in the towns of Guiguinto and Calumpit. The towns of Paombong, Plaridel, Bocaue, Bulakan, Hagonoy and Obando, and the City of Meycauayan recorded 2-ft-high floodwaters.

In Olongapo City, an independent city in Zambales province, families living around the river traversing the villages of Mabayuan and Kalaklan were told to prepare to seek higher ground on Sunday morning.

Authorities in Ilocos Norte, meanwhile, said they were preparing to evacuate residents in Bacarra town as the continuous downpour had caused Bislak River to swell.

Dam situation

Ipo Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, released water at a rate of 38 cubic meters per second to ease pressure on its reservoir, which measured 100.56 meters above sea level. Its spilling level is 101 meters.

Bustos Dam in Bustos town of Bulacan had also been discharging water since Saturday, and had raised the rate of release to 156 cms on Sunday morning when its elevation reached 16.36 masl. Its spilling level is 17 m.

The elevation of Angat Dam in Norzagaray rose by a meter from 185.89 masl on Saturday to 186. 88 m on Sunday.

In Cabanatuan City, the rains brought by Fabian and by the southwest monsoon in the last few days have helped fill up the reservoir in Pantabangan Dam.

As of Saturday, Pantabangan Dam's elevation was at 182.86 masl, or 38.15 m from its spilling level of 221 m, records showed.

-REPORTS FROM TONETTE OREJAS, JUN MALIG, CARMELA REYES-ESTROPE, JOANNA ROSE AGLIBOT, ARMAND GALANG AND JOHN MICHAEL MUGAS

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Over 80,000 displaced as flood spreads in Central Luzon

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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines - More areas in Central Luzon were submerged in up to 5 feet of water on Sunday as days of incessant southwest monsoon rain continued, affecting over 80,000 persons, authorities said. Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda on Sunday advised mayors to carry out forced evacuations in areas where floods have reached critical level.