The City of Santa Rosa has been consistently recognized for its “integrity and good performance through continuing governance reform and sustained local development” as attested by the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) that the city received from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) for three consecutive years.
The City of Santa Rosa is one of the 57 cities and among the 381 local government units (LGUs) in the country conferred with the Seal on November 5, 2019.
“This is the third consecutive year that the city received the award, and I am very proud since the Seal recognizes remarkable performance of an LGU, which means we are doing it right in the City of Santa Rosa,” said Mayor Arcillas.
The seven local governance areas under which the LGUs were assessed include Financial Administration; Disaster Preparedness; Social Protection; Peace and Order; Business-friendliness and Competitiveness; Environmental Management; and Tourism, Culture and the Arts.
Prior to this, the city also received the Seal of Good Local Governance: Good Financial Housekeeping in 2015; the Seal of Good Housekeeping Silver Grade in 2014; and the Seal of Good Housekeeping Bronze Level in 2011.
Focusing on the seven areas of the SGLG criteria, the city is striving to implement programs that will benefit the people today and in the future.
One of the projects currently being implemented is the Santa Rosa Greenway Project. It is aimed to provide a safer walking environment to pedestrians and a landscape that people would enjoy, thus lessening traffic congestion, air pollution and noise. It is located along Leon Arcillas Blvd., near the City of Santa Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex. The project complements the city’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan.
Accompanying the remodeling of the city is the improvement of the City Plaza. A feasibility study is ongoing for the development of the Eco-Tourism Park in Barangay Aplaya, which will improve the city’s lakeshore areas.
The city center will developed into the Heritage Square, Santa Rosa’s own version of Vigan. This will enhance the image of the city as a cultural and heritage, particularly since Cuartel De Santo Domingo, which has been declared as an Important Cultural Property, is undergoing development as the city’s main heritage site.
Also in the pipeline is the transfer of the existing Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Center to a property of the city government in Barangay Sinalhan. Drug rehabilitation has been a priority of the city especially when the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte gave orders to LGUs to assist drug offenders in their road to recovery.
Since the City Anti-Drug Abuse Council (CADAC) was determined to make the city drug-cleared, the city, in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), put up the Balay Silangan Reformation Center. The council also regularly works with the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) for the conduct of Community-Based Rehabilitation Program. This commitment has earned the city the Anti-Drug Abuse Council Performance Award for years 2019 and 2018 conferred by DILG.
The city was declared drug-cleared by the Region IV-A Oversight Committee on Barangay Drug Clearing Operation on June 25, 2019.
The area in Barangay Sinalhan will also house the proposed Environmental Testing Laboratory for water and waste water analysis of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO).
In the current location of the rehabilitation center will rise the Santa Rosa City College, which Mayor Arcillas said will help address the gaps in the education and employment of the city’s youth. An Orientation Meeting on the Establishment of the Santa Rosa City College was held on January 29, 2020.
Alongside this is the construction of the division office of the Department of Education, the improvement of the Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School, and additional building for the Polytechnic University of Philippine – Santa Rosa Campus.
To immediately respond to emergencies and crime in the upland area, a public safety office that will house a substation of the police and fire departments will be built in Barangay Pulong Santa Cruz. A multi-purpose evacuation center will also be constructed in the all of the city’s 18 barangays.
The improvement of the City Public Market is also in the pipeline, along with the construction of a medium-rise housing project in Masiit in Barangay Labas.
With plans of upgrading the Santa Rosa Community Hospital to a Level 2 hospital, the city is currently completing the four-storey annex building. Once completed, the hospital will have a total of 223 bed-capacity, which is 150-bed higher than the current capacity of 83. This will also mean more services to be added to existing facilities such as rehabilitation medicine department and dialysis section, among others.
In 2019, SRCH received a Certificate of Recognition (Finalist of the Achiever’s Category) during the 2nd Regional Newborn Screening Award from the Department of Health – Center for Health Development CALABARZON.
Santa Rosa was also a recipient of various awards such as Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance from DILG and DSWD; 3rd Overall Most Competitive Component City and 3rd Place on Government Efficiency in terms of Competitiveness from DTI; 2nd Outstanding CSF LGU Partner in the Philippines from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; Selyo ng Kahusayan sa Serbisyo Publiko from the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF); Kabalikat Award from TESDA; and 3rd Place, Highest Enrollment with No Arrears and on time payment under the Sponsored Program of PhilHealth
“These awards are not just testimonies of good performance but also an impetus for us to continuously move forward and institute reforms to further good governance practices for the benefit of the people we serve,” Mayor Arcillas said.
