STA. ROSA CITY, Laguna – This city is gearing up to become a smart city following a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) on the Smart City Assessment and Roadmap Development plan.
The Sangguniang Panglungsod headed by presiding officer and Vice Mayor Arnold Arcillas has passed Resolution No. 162, Series of 2021, authorizing Mayor Arlene B. Arcillas here to enter into and sign the MOA for the implementation of the smart city project.
The project aims to facilitate smart growth and development in this city by formulating a roadmap that will set forth the local development agenda here anchored on established smart city indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals, according to the resolution.
According to Mayor Arcillas, the smart city project is a good opportunity to better accelerate the city’s smart growth through the help of stakeholders.
The city government, in order to achieve this goal, assembled stakeholders from the public and private sectors for the validation of assessment, findings, and consultation workshop on the formulation of the Sta. Rosa Smart City Roadmap spearheaded by the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-Region 4-A.
Mayor Arcillas issued Executive Order No. 4, Series of 2022, establishing the Technical Working Group for the project. It is composed of two members of the City Council; the City Administrator as an ex-officio member; five public members or citizens; 11 stakeholder representatives from research and academe, healthcare, and medical community, arts and culture community, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, tourism sector, and other smart city players, and Secretariat.
With the guidance of DOST and DAP, Mayor Arcillas believes that through the project, the people of Sta. Rosa can one day enjoy a high quality of life, competitive economy, and sustainable environment which are all indicators of a smart city.