SANTA ROSA CITY, Laguna (PIA) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. graces the grand launching of VITRO Santa Rosa (VSR), the Philippines’ first AI-ready hyperscale data center on April 23 in Santa Rosa City, Laguna.
Built with 50-megawatt electrical load, the hyperscale facility is designed to serve global technology leaders in cloud and artificial intelligence or AI.
The President said that the data center stands as proof that the Philippines is future-ready for the digital realm and reflects the commitment of the administration to regional development and bringing digital progress outside Metro Manila.
“This launch also reflects our commitment to regional development. We bring digital progress beyond Metro Manila and into the heart of our provinces.”
The President adds: “Fully energized. Artificial Intelligence-ready. Built to support hyperscale, cloud, and enterprise workloads, in other words, the Googles, the Amazons, the Facebooks of this world.”
For the local government of Santa Rosa, VSR will provide new economic opportunities for the locals that will be employed in the data center and will attract new potential local and foreign investors to the city.
“This caters not only to locals but also to foreigners. As we all know, this is the future — AI — and that means this will continue. The data from our different platforms are here in Sta. Rosa. We’re always proud to be chosen — it means they have trust and confidence in the necessary facilities and infrastructure that we have here,” Santa Rosa City mayor Arlene Arcillas said in an interview with the media.
Arcillas then expressed gratitude to PLDT and ePLDT Group for the trust placed in the city as VSR plans to further expand its facilities in the succeeding years.
Aside from ushering in innovation and welcoming technological investors into the country, President Marcos Jr. shared that his administration continues to implement programs to lessen the digital divide in the provinces.
“Through the Free Public Internet Access Program, we have established more free Wi-Fi sites nationwide, with more than 11 million user sessions recorded as of March 2025, including in GIDA areas or geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas,” the Chief Executive said.
Although digital innovation gains are recorded, President Marcos Jr. said that it does not make the administration complacent, and calls for continued action in taking deliberate steps to propel the Philippines to greater feats.
In the Global Innovation Index, out of 133 economies, the Philippines rose from 56th place in 2023 to 53rd place in 2024, which the President attributes to the collective effort to accelerate the country’s progress through innovation. (CH/PIA-Laguna)
