| Cuartel de Santo Domingo | |
|---|---|
Fort Santo Domingo | |
 Walls of Cuartel de Santo Domingo | |
 Interactive map of Cuartel de Santo Domingo | |
| Alternative names | Intramuros of Santa Rosa |
| General information | |
| Type | Fortification |
| Architectural style | Bastioned fort |
| Location | Santa Rosa–Tagaytay Road,Santa Rosa,Laguna,Philippines |
| Coordinates | 14°13′51″N121°02′59″E / 14.23081°N 121.04986°E /14.23081; 121.04986 |
| Current tenants | |
| Named for | Saint Dominic |
| Completed | 1877 |
| Owner | Philippine Government |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 8.2 hectares (20 acres) |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Masonry |
| Designations | National Historical Landmark |
Cuartel de Santo Domingo, also known asFort Santo Domingo andIntramuros of Sta. Rosa, is an old two-storey Spanish barracks building inSanta Rosa,Laguna in the Philippines.[1] It is currently used as the headquarters of theSpecial Action Force of thePhilippine National Police.
The bastion is strategically located in Barangay Santo Domingo, Santa Rosa, Laguna near the municipality ofSilang. It is named afterSaint Dominic, the founder of theDominican Order which owns the lands around Santa Rosa,Biñan andCalamba.
The wholecuartel is built across an 8.2-hectare (20-acre) stretch of land. Its walls are made up of adobe stones. Some of the interior walls inside were part of the ruins of the old fort. Watchtowers are not presently used since the building is covered with huge trees.[1]
The fort was built in 1877 as headquarters of the guardia civil againsttulisanes or bandits. Standing close to Silang, its adobe walls were built to protect the town, particularly the Dominican haciendas of Santa Rosa and Biñan, fromtulisanes coming fromCavite. During the revolution, it served as headquarters of the Spaniards led by Gen. Jose Lachambre against the army of Gen.Emilio Aguinaldo from Cavite in 1897. The fort also served as a refuge for women fromCabuyao and Calamba to protect them from being abused by theImperial Japanese Army and transformed as a center of commerce during theJapanese occupation.[2] It was used by thePhilippine Army from 1957 to 1990 and has been used by the Philippine National Police since 1992.[1][3]
The fort was declared aNational Historical Landmark by the National Historic Institute (nowNational Historical Commission of the Philippines) under NHI Resolution No. 3, series 2005 on July 21, 2005. A marker was unveiled on September 20, 2005.[4][5] On January 14, 2019, the fort was named as anImportant Cultural Property by theNational Museum of the Philippines.[6] On July 29, 2025,Santa Rosa Representative Roy Gonzales filed House Bill No. 2485, which seeks to declare the fort as a heritage site; the bill is pending before theHouse Committee on Basic Education and Culture.[7][8]
Currently, the fort serves as the headquarters and training camp of the Philippine National Police's Special Action Force and as a detention center for many big-time political detainees such as former presidentJoseph Estrada,Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) chairNur Misuari, former senatorGregorio Honasan, andJanet Lim-Napoles.[1][9] Since it now served as prisoners of high-profile detainees, thecuartel is off-limits to the public. The use of the fort as a detention facility was strongly opposed by Laguna's1st District RepresentativeDan Fernandez.[10]
The southwestern part of the fort was realigned to make way for the construction of the Santa Rosa City Exit ofCavite–Laguna Expressway.
Since 2000, the people of Santa Rosa, through an organization calledKilusan Cuartel de Santo Domingo, have "wanted to return the fort to the Local Government Unit of Santa Rosa from the ownership of the military and the police".[1]Laguna 1st District Representative Dan Fernandez also appealed toCongress that the government unit owns it, not the military nor the police.[10]