Santa Cruz, Province of Laguna, Calabarzon, Philippines

🇵🇭 Santa Cruz, officially the Municipality of Santa Cruz, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Laguna, Philippines. Santa Cruz is situated on the banks of the Santa Cruz River which flows into the eastern part of Laguna de Bay. The town is bounded by the Bay on the north, by Lumban and Pagsanjan towns in the east, Pagsanjan and Magdalena towns in the south, and Pila in the west. It is 88 km (55 mi) from Manila via Calamba and Los Baños. It is accessible by land from Metro Manila passing through Rizal Province via Manila East Road or via South Luzon Expressway.

Santa Cruz is considered as the service and commercial centre on the eastern part of the province. The town is composed of five barangays in the Poblacion area and 21 classified urban barangays. Although relatively far from the immediate urbanising influence of Metropolitan Manila, Santa Cruz continues to progress. It is now classified as first class municipality. The present administration is headed by the Mayor Egay San Luis. Santa Cruz is also the seat of the provincial government since 1885, giving the municipality an additional administrative function over the entire province. It also functions as the service centre for transportation, commerce, health, education, and other social services for the predominantly rural north-eastern municipalities of the province. Boosting the economy of the municipality are the incipient and fast-growing agribusiness industries such as livestock raising, horticulture and aquaculture. The town is composed of twenty-six urban barangays. All barangays are being classified as urban.

The development of Santa Cruz as the administrative, commercial, and service centre of Laguna makes it accessible for all private/public vehicles going to nearby places particularly Pagsanjan, Lake Caliraya, Liliw, Paete and Nagcarlan.

Commerce The provincial capital of Laguna, Santa Cruz serves as service centre of the province particularly for the municipalities on its north-eastern part.

Trade and commerce remain to be one of the primary economic activities in the locality. The presence of jeepney services plying Lumban, Paete, Siniloan, San Pablo, Pila, Victoria, Cavinti-Caliraya, Luisiana, Majayjay, Calumpang, Nagcarlan, Liliw, Magdalena, Pagsanjan, Lucban, Lucena and Calamba has further enhanced the municipality's role as a commerce and trade center.

The centre of business activities is in the poblacion specifically at Barangay V where the four buildings of Public Market is situated.

Santa Cruz has many establishment that contribute to its development. Development in this vicinity has been a quasi-residential commercial type as manifested by the proliferation of structures which are used both for business and residential purposes by the proprietors/owners. There is also a concentration of business establishments at the section of the national highway/expressway especially Barangay Gatid where a Mall is located, and the abandoned PNR Railway (road) while a strip pattern of commercial development is noticeable along the Quezon Avenue and along the old highway and Pedro Guevarra Avenue. Along P Guevarra Avenue, several establishments are also located such as Hospitals, Meralco office, PLDT office, Red Cross, several Banking Institutions, and Executive Eminent Lending Company. There is also SL Agritech Corporation, in Barangay Oogong, Santa Cruz, Laguna.