A booming metropolis

MOST, if not all, cities have nicknames that highlight an aspect of their identity that is something to be proud of. The City of Santa Rosa in Laguna is no different. In fact, it has quite a lot of nicknames — “The Lion City of South Luzon,” “Makati of the South,” “Little Detroit,” and “Investment Capital of South Luzon” just to name a few.

These handles are economic for a reason. Santa Rosa, which became a city in 2004 by virtue of the Republic Act No. 9264 passed by the Congress of the Philippines, has one of the strongest economies not just among the local government units in Laguna, but in the entire Philippines. A year before the transition, Santa Rosa had less than P600 million in income. In 2007, the city’s income passed the one billion mark. According to the latest Commission on Audit’s Annual Financial Report, the city had revenue of P2.7 billion in 2015.

The city is a manufacturing hub. It is home to four of the biggest automotive companies in the Philippines — Toyota Motor Philippines, Honda Cars Philippines, Ford Group Philippines, and Nissan Philippines — as well as two bus assemblers. Collectively, these firms employ thousands of people and produce loads of vehicles annually.

It is also where multiple Philippine Export Zone Authority ( PEZA)- registered industrial estates are located, like the Laguna Technopark, Inc., Greenfield Auto Park, Santa Rosa Business Park and Toyota Special Economic Zone. In 2010, most of the 102 locators, which are engaged in everything from the manufacturing of automotive parts to food processing, in Santa Rosa were situated in these estates. They are very integral to the city’s economy as they provide work for thousands of people and contribute billions of dollars to the country’s export earnings.

Mixed- used developments, which are growing in popularity, have been cropping up in Santa Rosa. Ayala Land, Inc. has built Nuvali, dubbed the largest selfsustainable and eco-friendly community in the country. Eton City, a project of LT Group, has residential enclaves and a range of resort- like recreational facilities.

International and local corporations have set up headquarters in the city. They include Coca- Cola FEMSA Philippines, Inc., which deals in the bottling and distribution of brands of beverages owned by Coca- Cola; and Monde Nissin, a food industry giant producing goods like noodles and biscuits.

Last year, the Department of Science and Technology- Information and Communications Technology Offi ce, Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, and Leechiu Property Consultants, named the 10 next hubs for the information technology and business process management sector, and Santa Rosa was one of those hubs. The criteria were talent, infrastructure, cost and business environment.

All in all, the service and industrial sectors account for the majority of economic activities in Santa Rosa, while the agricultural sector has a tiny share. But not all the activities come from big businesses; small and micro- industries run by independent owners are also prevalent in the city. As the city’s Web site puts it, the “forward and backward linkages of big, medium and small-scale industries are the key to the long-term sustainable growth of the local economy.”