Socio-Economic and Physical Profile of the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

Chapter 1. HISTORY

1. SANTA ROSA CITY: TWO HUNDRED TWENTY SIX YEARS OF HISTORY

A brief historical perspective of Santa Rosa City is provided in order to trace the whole
spectrum of its development that in turn can serve as a useful guide in the current planning
exercise being conducted for the city. The temporal narrative will provide a picture of the
direction being experienced by the city that will inform planners what interventions need to be
taken that will lead the city towards a more sustainable form of development. In this narrative,
the city’s history is traced through the following periods of its existence: From Barrio Bukol,
Revolutionary Period, American Period, Sakdalista Revolt Period, Japanese Period and Post-War
Period. A detailed list of local chief executives and periods served is provided at the end of
this chapter (Table 1-1, Figure 1-14).
1.1 From Barrio Bukol
When the Spanish conquistador Juan de Salcedo, grandson of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi,
explored the wide span of the Laguna Lake during the early period, he discovered the
settlements of native people along the coastal areas – in particular the area of “Tabuco”, that
covered what are now the nearby towns of Cabuyao and Biñan. Santa Rosa was then a
territorial extension of Biñan called Barrio Bukol – an area presumably referring to the sloping
and elevated western section of the town.
The land is part of the Hacienda Biñan, the center of vast tracks of land in Laguna owned
by the Dominicans, the famed Order of Preachers (OP), as early as 1644. According to stories, a
kapilya or chapel was erected by the Dominicans friars in 1757. During the period also, the
Historical Cuartel de Santo Domingo, a bastion of the Spanish Civil Guards, was established near
the boundary with Silang Cavite to guard and protect the lowland residents from the tulisanes or
bandits that roam and cross from the province of Cavite to the province of Laguna. During the
Spanish revolution, reinforcements against Philippine revolutionaries were stationed in this
eight-hectare headquarters.

Figure 1-1. The ruins of Cuartel de Santo Domingo served as a fort against the attacks of bandits
and other lawless elements. Declared a “NATIONAL HISTORICAL LANDMARK” by the National
Historical Institute on July 21, 2005 and by the National Museum last September 28, 2017 as an
“IMPORTANT CULTURAL PROPERTY,” a program of activities was held last January 14, 2019 for the
Public Declaration of this historical milestone by the City Government of Santa Rosa, Laguna.

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Chapter 1. HISTORY

Map 1-1. Historical Landmarks, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

Barrio Bukol was already an established settlement in Biñan spread over various sitios
such as Makinang Apoy, Tagapo, Pulong Santa Cruz, Aplaya and Caingin, among others. Similar
to the “encomienda system” of the Spaniards, a hacienda situated in the Poblacion area was
established. A native woman of the barrio named Doña Juana Galintang owned several hectares
of grassland and her status in the community was duly recognized by naming the plaza after her.

Figure 1-2. Sa inyong pagdaan sa

may Gusaling Batasan marahil
inyong iniisip kung kaninong rebulto
ang natatagpuan sa Plaza
Galintang.
Ito ay walang iba kundi ang ating
local hero na si BASILIO BARROMA
GONZALES.
Siya ay isang rebolusyonaryo na
namuno sa mga katipunero na mga
naninirahan sa bayan ng Santa Rosa.

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Chapter 1. HISTORY

The town was named after the first South American saint, Santa Rosa de Lima of Peru, a
nun of the Third Order of Saint Dominique. This act indicates the strong influence of the
Dominican Order in the town. Through the petitions of the prominent local residents, Barrio
Bukol was politically emancipated as the municipality of Santa Rosa on January 18, 1792.
As a new town, Santa Rosa had a visita (parochial church) built of light materials. It was
constructed beside the present municipal hall. Subsequent improvements made it what it
appears today. It now houses the town’s police station. As a matter of practice, the visitas were
not only used as a place for worship but also as venues for classes for primary education (which
consisted of the 3R’s – reading, writing and arithmetic) and cathechism. This probably holds true
in Santa Rosa since there was no known school, whether permanent or temporary, during the
18th and the 19th centuries.

Figure 1-3. The first parochial church,

was originally made of cogon and
bamboos where young boys and girls
were taught the cartilla by the friar-
missionaries.

Figure 1-4. Construction of the Santa Rosa de Lima Parish Church

begun in 1796. The citizenry helped in the procurement of
materials. They supplied albumin (egg white) which when mixed
with lime and mortar served as cement that cohered the adobe
stones firmly. After 16 years, the church was completed. The
Zavalla Manuscripts disclosed that the church was blessed on
August 4, 1812 and the first holy mass with homily was celebrated
on August 30, 1812.

It was also during this year when the Rosa de Lima Parish Church was completed. The church
was built to honor the Patron Saint of the town. The town folks believed that they were able to
withstand the ordeals of the Japanese occupation through the protection, guidance and help of
Santa Rosa de Lima.

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 Socio-Economic and Physical Profile of the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna
Chapter 1. HISTORY

Figure 1-5
“The image of Saint Rose of Lima of Peru”
Santa Rosa was the young and
beautiful
beata (blessed) and mystic
from Lima, Peru
named
Isabel Flores de Oliva.

After leading a life of corporal mortification,

fasting, prayer and dedication to the teachings of Jesus Christ, she was canonized by Pope
Clement X on April 12, 1671 and became the first Catholic saint in the Americas. The parish
church was built at the poblacion town center and served as the reference point in the
establishment of the old municipio or municipal town hall, the public plaza and the gridiron
pattern of street alignment around the plaza. This urban form was otherwise called the “plaza
complex” which the Spaniards prescribed in physically planning their colonial settlements.

Map 1-2. Historical Landmark Map at Poblacion, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

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Chapter 1. HISTORY

Figure 1-6. The Old “Bahay-Pamahalaang Bayan or Munisipyo” from 1828-2006 was converted to the
New City Museum or “Gusaling Museo.”

Figure 1-7. The Old Town Plaza & the New City Plaza

Figure 1-8. The original Bantayan, Figure 1-9. Municipal President Jose
situated in the vicinity of the Zavalla commissioned David A. Dia to
present bridge, was constructed renovate the arch in 1925.
between 1859 and 1860 during the
administration of Arcadio
Arambulo.

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 Socio-Economic and Physical Profile of the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna
Chapter 1. HISTORY

Figure 1-10. The last major renovation of the arch entailed a total demolition.
The arch was built at a site near the market in 1931.

As a peaceful and quiet community, the town people went their ways working on the
land as farmers, artisans and fishermen. The lake water provided bountiful harvest of rare of
species of native fish such as biya, hipon, ayungin, tigite, dalag and dulong which are rapidly
vanishing during these days in the heavily polluted waters of the lake. The land, however, was
blessed with abundant fresh groundwater from its soil layer formation of sand and clastic rocks
up to the present day-a natural resource that makes the city very attractive to residential,
commercial and industrial development.

To this day, many Spanish type bahay na bato houses of the Zavalla, Tiongco, Gomez
and Gonzales families still stand. Many skillful Chinese artisans from the Parian of Intramuros
settled permanently after constructing the church that was completed 15 years after. Some
Chinese became rich inquilinos who leased the farmlands from the friars and subsequently
distributed them for rent by farmer tenants. It was a convenient arrangement widely practiced
in Laguna during those times.

Map 1-3. Heritage Houses Map, City of Santa Rosa, Laguna

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 Socio-Economic and Physical Profile of the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna
Chapter 1. HISTORY

Outside the town center, vast tracks of sakatehan or grassland with scattered nipa and
bamboo houses describe the rest of the town. It was in these scattered and uninhabited lands
that the legendary bolangapoy was said to appear in the dark of night to burn the sakatahan
along its path while superstitious people watch from a distance. It was also said that the people
then were enchanted and mesmerized by the colorful fireworks seen during midnight at certain
months of the year.

1.2 Revolutionary Period

With the start of the Filipino Revolution in 1896 from Cavite that spread like wildfire to
Laguna, Bulacan and other neighboring provinces, the town people found themselves divided in
the fight for national independence against the Spanish colonial masters. The town “loyalists”
joined the Spanish authorities in defending the Royal Crown and preventing the rapid spread of
the revolutionary forces that were trying to encircle the old City of Manila. The Spanish army
under the command of Captain Heneral Blanco, in a desperate attempt, established a
stronghold -- the Calamba-Tanauan-Banadero defense line and soon infantry as well as the
cazadores or chasseurs sent from Spain under General Rios and Aguirre also took part in the
offensive.
The area around the famous Cuartel de Santo Domingo was attacked on October 27,
1896 by the Filipino revolutionaries. The fort was defended by the Guardia Civil with the
assistance of volunteer citizens from Santa Rosa who for their heroic efforts were given rewards
and citations such as land grants and tax privileges by the Spanish authorities.
With General Emilio Aguinaldo gaining the upper hand in the revolution, a populist
leader named Tinyente Basilio “Ilyong” Gonzales, carried the local fight in Santa Rosa by
organizing the original Magdalo faction and by appointing himself president. In recognition of
this role in the town’s history, a statue of him has been erected outside the city’s Gusaling
Batasan. When the Philippine Independence was proclaimed in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898,
the municipal government sent Francisco Arambulo and other local prominent citizens to sign
the documents of declaration.
Eventually, war broke out again with the Americans on February 1899 such that many
local citizens like David Zavalla, Felix Reyes, and Delfin Vallejo fought alongside the forces of
General Pio del Pilar. With the gradual fall of Filipino forces in major battles, the town of Santa
Rosa was later occupied by the American forces led by Colonel Robert Bullard on January 1900.
During the Spanish period, the so-called gobernadillos were Jose Dizon, Ignacio
Balberino, Sebastian Arambulo, Vicente Nepomuceno, Policarpio Juarique, Eugenio Francisco,
Domingo Arambulo, Clemete Añonuevo, Pedro Vallejo, Mariano Gonzales, Angel Zavalla, and
Francisco Arambulo. During the American regime, so- called presidents were Pedro Leano, Pablo
Manguerra, Celerino Tiongco, Francisco Arambulo, and many others.

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Chapter 1. HISTORY

1.3 American Period

With the establishment of the Insular Government of the Americans, all friar lands in the
Philippines were purchased for distribution to the local people and paid on installment basis. In
Santa Rosa, the Dominican friar lands were bought for 14.4 million pesos on July 4, 1901. The
period of reconstruction was initiated by the civil government which allocated 2 million pesos
for the construction of roads, bridges and school buildings in Santa Rosa. At the same time,
German Arambulo, a rich philanthropist with a great vision for the town, donated his family-
owned land estates as sites for the present-day public market, playground, and elementary
school building. The famous Santa Rosa Arch, a small replica of the Arch of Triumph in Paris,
France was also built in 1931. In a sense, the modern-day physical planning and development of
the municipality started during this early period.
1.4 Sakdalista Revolt Period
The town was no exception to agrarian unrest that dominated the Philippine political
scene of the early 1930s. The issues and problems related to abuses by landowners dubbed as
“caciquism” culminated in a bloody revolt by farmers of Santa Rosa and Cabuyao on May 3,
1935. About 30 people, most of them occupying the Cabuyao Parish Church patio, died from the
Springfield rifles of the government constabulary. Many rebels were arrested, including their
woman leader, Henerala Salud Algabre, and were put to prison charged with rebellion. It did not
take long when President Manuel L. Quezon of the Commonwealth Government granted them
political amnesty through the intercession of Governor Juan Cailles of Laguna.

1.5 Japanese Period

Life went on as usual in Santa Rosa until the Second World War which broke out in
1941. What was conspicuous before the war was the presence of Japanese nationals such as
“Meda” and “Mekawa” who were seen selling “kending happon”. They were later seen dressed
in army uniform when the invading Japanese forces came in. Tragic incidents marked the
Japanese occupation of the town. Suspected local guerillas identified by the treacherous local
makapili spies in hooded bayong were arrested, tortured and just disappeared.
The hacienda was converted into a garrison by the Japanese Army. Some local residents
were caught in the crossfire between the “tora-tora” planes and American planes which were
engaged in dogfights. The belfry of the parish church was heavily damaged during these clashes.
The town plaza later became the site for executing makapilis by the local guerillas.
Fearful for their lives, the Japanese forces, together with their local cohorts, fled towards the
eastern side of the lake known as the “darangan” and their fate was never known again. When
the American forces returned on February 5, 1945 together with their Filipino allies, some
Japanese collaborators were imprisoned at the “Kapitolyo” in Santa Cruz, Laguna.

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1.6 Post-War Period

During the post-war era until the 1970s, the town people were largely dependent on
basic agriculture and family-owned enterprises for livelihood. Aside from farming, residents
were also engaged in fishing, livestock raising, and small backyard gardening, However, progress
and development came to the town of Santa Rosa at a very fast pace several decades after the
liberation period. From a sleepy agricultural community regarded as a “bedroom area” of Metro
Manila, it was transformed into a boomtown of close to 300,000 people and the center of
business, commerce, and industry not only in Laguna but also the whole of CALABARZON sub-
region--the fastest growth center of the country. CALABARZON was formed by virtue of
Executive Order No. 103 which was issued in 2002 for the purpose of breaking up the large
Region IV into two regional planning areas and assigning development roles for each area.
CALABARZON was assigned the role of a growth corridor area to which Santa Rosa belongs. The
corridor is described as a rapidly urbanizing and industrializing area. Due to its proximity to
Metro Manila, a high level of urbanization has taken place over the years in the region, with
Laguna and Cavite particularly becoming sites of manufacturing and high-technology industries.
The influence of industrialization slowly took shape in Santa Rosa in the 1980s with the
entry of local and foreign investors who were instrumental in the fast- paced economic and
social transformation of the town and the province. The foreign multinational companies were
particularly attracted by cheap labor and government incentives in the PEZA-registered
economic zones and industrial estates. The quiet town of Laguna Province actually started its
progress initially from the establishment of Filsyn, CIGI and a couple of small multi-national
companies there when the government Board Of Investments (BOI) provided incentives to
companies located at not less than 40 km. away from Metro Manila.
With the timely opening of the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) in the 1980s, many
private business enterprises, big and small, started to come in, particularly the Coca-Cola
Bottling Company Plant--the biggest in Southeast Asia – and the Ayala- owned Laguna
Technopark Inc. (LTI) in joint venture with Japanese companies that opened its more than 300
hectares world-class industrial estate to locator companies known in the global business,
namely: National Panasonic, Fujitsu Ten, Emerson, Honda Cars Philippines, Isuzu and Lamcor,
among others. Later on, economic zones followed suit, particularly the Greenfield Business Park
that hosts the multi- million dollar manufacturing plant of the famous Ford Motor Company, the
Lakeside Eco-zone Industrial Technology Park, and Toyota Sta. Rosa Special Economic Zone.
The town so to speak is world-class with the presence of multinational companies in its
premier industrial estates. It is regarded as the Automotive Capital of the Philippines because
of the active presence and operation of Toyota Motor Philippines, Nissan Motor Philippines,
Honda Cars Philippines, Star Motors, Columbian Motors, Ford Motors and Mitsubishi Motors,
among others. The Enchanted Kingdom – the only world-class theme park in the country – is
located in Santa Rosa City as well as the Santa Elena Golf Club, a premiere golf course. There are
many first class housing projects offering accommodation for the middle and upper middle class
population. Recently, the opening of another Ayala Corporation signature project, the NUVALI,
makes Santa Rosa City another pride to the country. Nuvali Evo-living is the largest self-
sustainable eco-friendly community which also houses two multinational ICT-BPO Companies –
Convergys and IBM. The above economic developments have allowed Santa Rosa City to be recognized by
the Department of Science and Technology as a “Smart City” and to be popularly dubbed the

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“Investment Capital of Southern Luzon.” Also, because of the above developments, Santa Rosa
rose to become a first-class municipality in 1993 from its fourth-class status in 1986. Later,
through Republic Act No. 9264 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Santa Rosa
became a component city of the province on July 10, 2004.
The social, environmental and economic costs of rapid urbanization and population
growth, however, are already seen today in Santa Rosa City in the form of daily traffic
congestion, prohibitive cost of land acquisition, rapidly vanishing agricultural areas, sprouting
squatter colonies, seasonal unemployment, chemical pollution of rivers, flash flooding and
increasing garbage generation, among other problems. Considering the city’s relatively small
area of 5,500 has, the existence of cheap, idle lands is already a thing of the past with the
continued influx of space- consuming migrants and economic establishments. Thus, the whole
spectrum of social, economic, political, environmental and spatial problems faced by Santa Rosa
City today have to be addressed post-haste by a rationalized urban planning process if it has to
preserve the gains it has already achieved and if it has to harness its remaining potential
towards achieving a sustainable kind of spatio-sectoral development.
1.7 Local Town Heroes

With due recognition and gratitude, and to arouse the spirit of patriotism
amongst our younger generation, the Sangguniang Bayan of 1998 issued the following
Ordinance declaring these gallant breed of Santa Rosa Town Heroes :

1.7.1 Kautusang Bayan Blg. 651-’98 - Basilio Barroma Gonzales

1.7.2 Kautusang Bayan Blg. 660-’98 - Feliciano Arambulo Gomez
1.7.3 Kautusang Bayan Blg. 661-’98 - Celerino Castillo Tiongco

On the next pages is the full text of the above-mentioned ordinances.

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1.8 The Town / City Executives

Table 1-1. Santa Rosa Local Chief Executives, 1859 to Present (2018)
Period Town Executive
1859-1860 Arcadio Arambulo
1890-1894 Francisco Arambulo
1899-1900 Basilio B. Gonzales
1900-1901 Pedro Teaño Perlas
1902-1904 Pablo Monsod Manguerra Sr.
1905-1907 Celerino Castillo Tiongco
1908-1911 Feliciano Arambulo Gomez
1912-1916 Honorio Tiongco
1916-1922 Lorenzo Cartagena Tatlonghari
1922-1925 Jose Vallejo Zavalla
1925-1926 Aquilino Carballo
1926-1928 Felixberto Castro Tiongco
1928-1931 Benito Lijauco delos Reyes
1931-1937 Hermenegildo Regalado delos Reyes
1938-1940 Celso Gonzaga Carteciano
1941-1942 Valentin Regalado delos Reyes
Japanese Occupation (January 1942-March 6, 1945)
– Mayors were appointed in acting capacity, there were no Vice Mayors and Councilors
1942-1943 August Jose Alumno Alinsod
1943-1943 December Valentin Regalado delos Reyes
1944 Eduardo de Leon Marcelo
1944-1945 March 6 Angel Z. Tiongco
Commonwealth of the Philippines (1945-1946)
March 7 1945 Jose Alumno Alinsod
Republic of the Philippines
1946-1947 Francisco Gomez Arambulo Jr.
1948-1951 Felimon delos Trinos de Guzman
1952-1955 Gervacio Almira de Guzman
1960-1978 Angel Zavalla Tiongco
1978-1987 Cesar Entena Nepomuceno
1987 December 3 Zosimo Belsa Cartaño
1987-1988 February 2 Leo Tiongco Bustamante
1988-1998 Roberto delos Reyes Gonzales
1998-2005 May 10 Leon Catindig Arcillas
2005-2007 Jose B. Catindig Jr.
2007-2016 Arlene B. Arcillas
2016-Present Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez
Source: Records kept by the City Planning and Development Office and Based on the Speech of Judge Carteciano dated July 10, 2005.

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Figure 1-11. The Town Executives

THE TOWN EXECUTIVES

Arcadio Arambulo Francisco Arambulo Basilio B. Gonzales

1859 - 1860 1890 - 1894 1899 - 1900

Pedro Teaño Perlas Pablo Monsod Manguerra Celerino Castillo Tiongco

1900 - 1901 1902 - 1904 1905 - 1907

Feliciano Arambulo Gomez Mariano Carballo Perlas Lorenzo Cartagena Tatlonghari

1910 - 1911 1911 - 1921 1916 - 1922

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Jose Vallejo Zavalla Felixberto Castillo Tiongco Benito Lijauco delos Reyes
1922 - 1925 1926 - 1928 1928 - 1931

Hermenegildo Regalado delos Reyes Celso Gonzaga Carteciano Valentin Regalado delos Reyes
1931 - 1937 1938 - 1940 1941 - 1942

Jose Alumno Alinsod Eduardo de Leon Marcelo Francisco Gomez Arambulo

1942-1943 ; 1945 1944 1946 - 1947

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Felimon delos Trinos De Guzman Gervacio Almira De Guzman Angel Zavalla Tiongco
1947 - 1951 1952 - 1959 1940 – 1945; 1960 - 1978

Cesar Entena Nepomuceno Zosimo Belsa Cartaño Leo Tiongco Bustamante

Feb.3,1978 – Dec.3, 1987 Feb.3,1987 – Dec.3, 1987 OIC Dec.3,1987 – Feb.2,1988

Roberto delos Reyes Gonzales Leon Catindig Arcillas Jose B. Catindig

1988 - 1998 1998 – May 10, 2005 May 11, 2005 - 2007

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THE CITY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

ARLENE B. ARCILLAS
2007 – June 30, 2016

THE CITY CHIEF EXECUTIVE

DANILO RAMON S. FERNANDEZ

July 01, 2016 – Present

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