“As an urbanized city, making Sta. Rosa as a smart city will further transform the city to be smart and sustainable. This project will involve development of a roadmap that will lay down the local development agenda of the City anchored on established Smart City indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals,” DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said.
STA. Rosa City, Laguna has long been known as the pioneer in the growth of Laguna’s manufacturing and industrial sector.
Last Wednesday (November 24), the city government has forged a partnership with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) that aims to give the city another coveted title: the first “Smart City” in Laguna province.
During a virtual event, DOST-Calabarzon Regional Director Emelita Bagsit, Mayor Arlene Arcillas, and Engr. Francisco Barquilla, Officer-In-Charge (OIC)-Assistant Regional Director for Technical Operations of DOST-Calabarzon signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the six-month project on “Smart City Assessment and Roadmap Development of Santa Rosa City”.
The project will be implemented by DOST-Calabarzon in partnership with the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).
“As an urbanized city, making Sta. Rosa as a smart city will further transform the city to be smart and sustainable. This project will involve development of a roadmap that will lay down the local development agenda of the City anchored on established Smart City indicators and the Sustainable Development Goals,” DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said in his keynote message.
According to the secretary, the undertaking will involve a six-month project that will assess Sta. Rosa City on its status towards becoming a smart city.
It will be coupled with the roadmap development which will contain a menu of actionable solutions and interconnected interventions that would lead to growth and transformation of Sta. Rosa as a smart city.
“It will also include urban development strategies using technology solutions that contribute to the pandemic recovery agenda and the “better normal” policy of the national government,” de la Peña added.
DOST Undersecretary for Regional Operations Sancho A. Mabborang described as “commendable” the initiative the DOST-Calabarzon’s Smart City project with Sta. Rosa.
“I believe that this is a powerful move that, little by little, we replicate this initiative and help other city municipalities to adopt this framework. Becoming a smart and sustainable city has many economic and social benefits – it will enhance citizen engagement and collaborative partnerships; provide public access to open data; provide an integrated, holistic approach to city projects; and improved the life of people.”
With report from MB)
Tags: #OpinYonLaguna, #StaRosaCity, #DepartmentOfScienceandTechnology, #smartcity, #economicdevelopment