The faces of Santa Rosa
Aptly called the Four Pillars of Development, this program of governance was initiated in 2007 by then City Mayor and now Laguna First District Rep. Arlene Arcillas and is being continued by Mayor Dan Fernandez. With the continuity of governance and progr
of Santa Rosa through the leadership of Mayor Dan Fernandez, quickly responded by establishing the Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Center — the very first rehabilitation center operated by a local government unit. During Oplan Tokhang, many drug dependents willingly surrendered, and each one of them has their own story.
The journey of Dangal ng Pagbabago completionist Darwin Costales, 22, is among the inspiring and amazing stories inside the rehabilitation center. It was in high school when he got hooked on vices. It slowly became his life until he can no longer resist it to the point the he also learned to use illegal drugs when he was 19 years old. During those times, Darwin found his own kind of happiness with friends and with illegal drugs that he no longer knew himself anymore. There were instances that he felt like he wanted to change, but he does not how or when to start until his family decided to send him to Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation.
In the rehabilitation center, Darwin contemplated and realized a lot of things. He realized that he should not be putting his life to waste because there are many opportunities in store for him. He realized that God is working in his life for a purpose. Slowly, he redeemed himself.
Now, Darwin is finally out of the center, and he is trying to start anew with his family supporting him. He was also given an opportunity to be a Toyota Scholar, and he promised to be responsible enough and not to waste this chance given to him.
Those are just some of the people that served as testimony to what the City of Santa Rosa is really doing for its people. A lot has been helped, but there are still many more to be helped. This is what the City Government vows to do as the city celebrates its 14th year – progress will be sustained and accomplishments will continue to grow in numbers, through the support and participation of the people and stakeholders.