Santa Rosa, officially the Municipality of Santa Rosa ( Tagalog: ''Bayan ng Santa Rosa'') is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 75,649 people.

History

According to the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

, Santa Rosa was founded on August 1, 1878 through a Spanish decree. In his letter dated March 9, 2017, NHCP OIC-Chairman Rene Escalante said the Spanish decree was retrieved from the Archivo Historico Nacional in Madrid, Spain and is entitled "''Creacion de un pueblo civil formado por al barrio de Santa Rosa en la provincia de Nueva Ecija''". In his book, ''Nueva Ecija: 1896–1946'', Cesar Baroman wrote that Santa Rosa was a mere ''visita'' of Cabanatuan at the time when the latter was still a ''barrio'' of

Gapan Gapan , officially the City of Gapan (, Ilocano: ''Siudad ti Gapan'', Kapampangan: ''Ciudad/Lakanbalen ning Gapan''), is a component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1 ...

. During the American occupation, the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

enacted Act No. 933 on October 8, 1903, merging Santa Rosa with Cabanatuan. On August 17, 1907, Santa Rosa was later separated from Cabanatuan and regained its municipal status by virtue of Act No. 1687.

Geography

Santa Rosa is bounded by

Cabanatuan Cabanatuan, officially the City of Cabanatuan (; ; kapampangan language, Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Cabanatuan''), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines. Acco ...

to the north, Laur to the east, General Tinio to the south-east, Peñaranda and San Leonardo to the South, Jaen to the south-west, and

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

to the west. The

Pampanga River The Pampanga River is the second largest river on the island of Luzon in the Philippines (next to Cagayan River) and the country's fifth longest river. It is in the Central Luzon region and traverses the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, and Nuev ...

traverses near the center of the municipality. Santa Rosa is from

, from Palayan, and from

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Barangays

Santa Rosa is politically subdivided into 33

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of seven

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. The Barangay Captain/Chairman heads the Barangay Government, assisted by the Barangay Kagawads (Councilors). There is also a Barangay Secretary, Barangay Treasurer, Hepe ng Tanod (Chief), Barangay Tanods, Barangay Health Workers and BNS, Day Care Worker in every barangay. There is a chapter of the Liga ng Barangay at Santa Rosa, as well as SK Federation President. The BHWs and Day Care Workers have an organization at the municipal-level. * Cojuangco (Poblacion) * La Fuente * Liwayway * Malacañang * Maliolio * Mapalad * Rizal (Poblacion) * Rajal Centro * Rajal Norte * Rajal Sur * San Gregorio * San Mariano * San Pedro * Santo Rosario * Soledad * Valenzuela (Poblacion) * Zamora (Poblacion) * Aguinaldo * Berang * Burgos * Del Pilar * Gomez * Inspector * Isla * Lourdes * Luna * Mabini * San Isidro * San Joseph * Santa Teresita * Sapsap * Tagpos * Tramo Originally, Santa Rosa had 3 barangays or barrios during the Spanish period: Soledad, La Fuente and Rajal. In 1903, the number of barrios became four with the addition of Poblacion. Later on, the number of barrios increased to 17, namely, Cojuangco, La Fuente, Liwayway, Malacanang, Maliolio, Mapalad, Rizal, Rajal Centro, Rajal Norte, Rajal Sur, San Gregorio, San Mariano, San Pedro, Santo Rosario, Soledad, Valenzuela and Zamora. During the term of Mayor Juanito Bernardo (1988–1998), the 17 barangays became 33 barangays. Some barangays such as San Gregorio, San Mariano, La Fuente, Santo Rosario and San Pedro were subdivided. San Gregorio, for example, was divided into 5 barangays (Aguinaldo, Burgos, Mabini, Tramo and San Gregorio); San Mariano became four barangays (Del Pilar, Gomez, Luna and San Mariano); La Fuente became 3 barangays (La Fuente, San Joseph and Sapsap); Santo Rosario became two barangays (Inspector and Santo Rosario) and San Pedro became two barangays (San Isidro and San Pedro).

Climate

Demographics

Economy

Santa Rosa primarily depends on rice cultivation, vegetable production, commercial fishery, and tricycle sidecar fabrication. Just recently, the town started realizing its development potential. The town's strategic location at the crossroads of two national highways: the Maharlika Highway and the Tarlac-Santa Rosa- Fort Magsaysay Road is accelerating its commercial and industrial development. It is also inevitably set to benefit from the spillover of

's built-up area. As a result, Santa Rosa is gradually replacing agriculture with services and agro-industry as the main engines for growth. The stretch of Maharlika Highway is a growing commercial strip of local entrepreneurs competing with national businesses while the eastern part of the town is attracting investments in large commercial farms. As of 2017, based on

Commission on Audit of the Philippines The Commission on Audit (COA; ) is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties ...

, Santa Rosa economic status was: * Income – * Assets – * Liabilities – * Allotments – Concurrent to Santa Rosa's rapid growth is the buildup of perennially heavy traffic at the approach to the intersection of the national roads. To address the worsening situation, the local government teamed up with the

city government to construct a road that will bypass the town proper. As for Santa Rosa, only further growth is anticipated when

Central Luzon Link Expressway The Central Luzon Link Expressway (CLLEX or CELLEX), also known as the Central Luzon Link Freeway, is a partially operational expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its current eastern terminus is in Carmen-Cabanatuan Road i ...

and

North Luzon East Expressway The North Luzon East Expressway (NLEE) is a proposed four-lane, long limited-access toll expressway in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. The expressway was originally planned in 2000, when the route would have linked to the Cagayan ...

finally materialize.

Government

Local government

Pursuant to the

Local government in the Philippines In the Philippines, local government is divided into three levels: provinces and independent cities, component cities and municipalities, and barangays, all of which are collectively known as local government units (LGUs). In some areas, abo ...

, the political seat of the municipal government is located at the Municipal Town Hall. In the

History of the Philippines (1521–1898) The history of the Philippines dates from the earliest Hominini, hominin activity in the archipelago at least by 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least by 134,000 years ...

, the Gobernadorcillo was the Chief Executive who holds office in the Presidencia. In 1895, the Spaniards changed the position of Gobernadorcillo to Capitan Municipal. (Local Government in the Philippines,

Jose P. Laurel José Paciano Laurel y García (March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the President of the Second Philippine Republic from 1943 to 1945, which was a Japanese ally during World War II. ...

) During the American rule (1898–1946) (

History of the Philippines (1898–1946) The history of the Philippines from 1898 to 1946 is known as the American colonial period, and began with the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in April 1898, when the Philippines was still a colony of the Spanish East Indies, and conclud ...

), the elected Mayor and local officials, including the appointed ones, held office at the Municipal Town Hall. Under the Local Government Code of 1991 or Republic Act No. 7160, the Mayor acts as the Local Chief Executive and the different departments (Budget, Engineering, Treasury, Accounting, etc.) are under the supervision of the Mayor. The Vice Mayor, on the other hand, is the Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Bayan/Sangguniang Panlungsod which enacts ordinances or issues Resolutions. The LGC of 1991, primarily authored by former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., gave local autonomy to local government units (LGUs) at the provincial, city/municipal and barangay level. The LGUs were provided with Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) that gave them a substantial amount of public funds aside from the locally generated funds (real property tax, fees, charges). Functions and services formerly provided by national government agencies such as the Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of Health, Dept. of Social Welfare and Development were devolved to the provincial and city/municipal LGUs. During the last National and Local Elections in 2022, the following were elected as local officials of Santa Rosa: Mayor: Josefino Angeles; Vice Mayor: Atty. Ethel Catherine Jean Angeles-Roxas; Municipal Councilors: Ma. Cerissa Angeles, Ardee Santiago, Ramil Sumera, Antonio Romero, Claudine Baldazo, Dennis Dimacali, Irene Bernardo and Glenn Santos. ABC President Marcial Rommel Marcelo and SK Federation President Vera Gabriel are also members of the Sangguniang Bayan. In 2025 national and local elections, Christopher Tupeng Aguilar, a successful businessman won the Elections with over 6,000 votes ending an 18 year dynasty against his opponent Incumbent Mayor Otep Angeles who fail to secure his last term as a Mayor of the town due to alleged corruption.

Previous Mayors and Vice Mayors

The previous Mayors of Santa Rosa were the following: * Eulalio Saulo, 1909–1911 * Dionisio Punsal, 1911–1913 * Rafael Andres, 1917–1919 * Apolinario Manubay, 1919–1921 * Amado del Barrio, 1923–1928 * Matias Beley, 1929–1931 * Casimiro Marcelo, 1932–1939 * Lazaro Cajucom, 1941–1944 * Jacinto Martin, 1945–1947 * Bonifacio Santos, 1948–1951 * Severino Angeles, 1952–1959 ** and in 1964–1971 * Pedro Manubay, 1960–1963 * Cesar Angeles, 1972–1985 * Eduardo Enrile, 1985–1986 * Juanito Bernardo, 1988–1998 * Edgar Matias, July 1998 – December 1998 * Geronimo Baldazo, December 1998 – 2001 * Marlon Marcelo, 2001–2007 * Josefino Manucot Angeles, 2007–2016 * Marita Chua Angeles 2016–2019 * Josefino M. Angeles, 2019–2022 * Josefino M. Angeles, 2022–2025 The following served as Vice Mayors of Santa Rosa: * Benito Germino, 1952–1959 ** and in 1964–1971 * Marciano Marcelo, 1969–1979 * Eduardo Ennrile, 1972–1985 * Rufino Galman, 1985–1988 * Sesinando Santos, 1988–1992 * Edgar Matias, 1992–1998 * Gerry Baldazo, 1998 * Julian "Jojo" Mendoza, 1998–2001 * Josefino "Otep" Angeles, 2001–2007 * Irene Bernardo, 2007–2013 * Antonio Romero, 2013–2016 * Eliseo Angeles, 2016–2019 * Marie Evangelista, 2019–2022 * Atty. Ethel Catherine Jean Angeles-Roxas, 2022–2025

SGLG Awardee

The LGU of Santa Rosa is an awardee of the Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH) in 2011 and Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. These two awards are given by the

Department of the Interior and Local Government The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safety and strengthening local government capability aimed towards ...

to local government units which practice good governance, transparency and accountability.

Tourism

Santa Rosa's main landmark includes Santa Rosa Supermarket or "Pamilihang Bayan ng Santa Rosa", Santa Rosa Town Hall, Santa Rosa Town Park, Santa Rosa Central School, and St. Rose of Lima Parish Church. Other attractions which are most visited by tourists are The famous and old, round-shaped, miraculous chapel of San Mariano known as "The Miraculous Round Chapel of San Mariano", 18th Century Ancestral Houses in Santa Rosa, a private "Gazebo" of Cruz Compound in San Mariano, 1890 Ancestral House of Brgy. San Gregorio, American Air Base and rivers, Mga Munting Bahay-kubo, and scenic rice fields.

St. Rose of Lima Parish Church

The 1879 St. Rose of Lima Parish Church belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cabanatuan (Dioecesis of Cabanatuanensi, Suffragan of Lingayen-Dagupan, comprising 16 towns of Southern Nueva Ecija, Cabanatuan, Palayan City and Gapan; Titular: St. Nicholas of Tolentine, September 10; Most Reverend Sofronio A. Bancud, SSS, DD). It is named after St.

Rose of Lima Rose of Lima, TOSD (born Isabel Flores de Oliva; 20 April 1586 24 August 1617) (, ), was a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic in Lima, Peru, Spanish Empire, who became known for both her life of severe penance and her care of the pover ...

, T.O.S.D., the first person born in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

to be

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The Church is located at Maharlika Hway, Poblacion, Santa Rosa, 3101 Nueva Ecija. It is part of the Vicariate of St. Rose of Lima.

1946 Holy Cross College and Chapel

The Holy Cross College was founded in 1946 by Rt. Rev. Msgr. Fernando C. Lansangan, parish priest of the town of Santa Rosa, as a secondary school with two first-year classes. In 1948, government recognition was granted to the school for its high school department. In 1981, the expansion of the school's curricular program was conceived. During SY 1982–1983, the MECS granted permit for the first and second year curriculum of the degree Bachelor of Arts and the first and second year curriculum for the Junior Secretarial Course were offered to the public In its 39th year of service to the community. Dr. Raquel Tioseco Santa Ines, niece of the founder Priest took over the management of the college after his death. In all its 66 years of existence, HCC continues with additional TESDA programs in Restaurant Management, Computer Secretarial, and Electronic and Computer Technology; and six-month courses in Contact Call Center and Medical Transcription. HCC offers Masters in Education major in Mathematics and English.

San Mariano Chapel or "The Miraculous Round Chapel of San Mariano"

San Mariano Chapel is a round-shaped chapel located at the core of Barangay San Mariano Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija. This serves as a landmark of the said Barangay. It was named after the patron saint of the barrio, "San Mariano". The land where it is located was privately owned by a devoted family. After total and complete renovation of the said chapel, the land title was donated to St. Rose of Lima Parish Church. The Old Miraculous San Mariano Chapel was then reconstructed with the help of a devotee named Antonio M. Romero year 2000 after he recovered from paralysis in 1989. The said devotee religiously attended the mass held at San Mariano Chapel then miraculously recovered from such an illness as stated. He, later on, served as the Vice Mayor of the town and lost in his re-election due to black propaganda. People of San Mariano in the early 1900s used to kneel when passing by the old church including their carabaos or "kalabaw" before farming at dawn as a sign of respect in the said chapel. The chapel was believed to be miraculous and famous as it was known to be visited by thousands of devotees of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Santo Niño during the 1960s and 1970s. Miracles were actually witnessed by the people who visited the chapel and attended the mass held by the parish priest at that time. Evidence of such miracles were collected and kept by groups of families and people. The Feast of ''Santo Niño'' was celebrated in San Mariano Chapel every 25 February wherein a mass was held and simple gift-giving and feeding for the children were organized by certain groups.

1890 Ancestral House of Brgy. San Gregorio, Santa Rosa

An ancestral house built in 1890, this is a landmark known in the whole town of Santa Rosa. Its renovation was initiated in 1974 and finished in 1977. A house strongly founded out of tons of cement and copper steel. It comprises 4 balconies, 3 living room areas, 3 kitchens, 5 common bedrooms, and a master bedroom. The living room area had its traditional atmosphere through the marble design floors. During the Spanish era, the chandeliers illuminated the whole house. The majority of its wooden surface was made out of pure narra. The great descendants of Capt. Gregorio drl Barrio (founder of San Gregorio) had meaningful experiences full of love which are worth reminiscing up to the present generation. The house symbolizes a Filipino's resilience for it stood for more than a hundred years overcoming raging calamities like typhoons and earthquakes.

Education

Santa Rosa, Nueva Ecija is served by both public and DepEd-accredited private/catholic schools. * The Holy Cross College, Santa Rosa, is a Catholic school established in 1946 and is the legacy of Fernando C. Lansangan (died 1980). Msgr. Lansangan was parish priest of St. Rose of Lima Parish * Jesus Is Lord Christian School * Malacanang National High School * Saint Rose of Lima Catholic School * Santa Rosa Central School * Santa Rosa National High School * Rose of Sharon Christian School * Santo Rosario National High School * Saint Christopher Montessori School of Santa Rosa

Gallery

File:Crossjf22.JPG, Holy Cross College File:Santarosa33jf.JPG, Municipal road and Town hall File:SantaRosaNuevaEcijajf2340 01.JPG, Santa Rosa Town Hall File:SantaRosaNuevaEcijajf2340 08.JPG, Santa Rosa Park File:SantaRosajf2133.JPG, Public market File:Santarosajf2252.JPG, Crossing, Junction

Sister cities

, Nueva Ecija *

, Nueva Ecija * Aliaga, Nueva Ecija * Santa Rosa City, Laguna

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census InformationLocal Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Nueva Ecija Populated places on the Pampanga River