Cavite

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Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Its capital is the municipality of Imus although Trece Martires City, which was the former capital, is still the seat of the provincial government and the location of the capitol building. Cavite is surrounded by the provinces of Laguna to the east and Batangas to the south. To the west lies the South China Sea.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Province of Cavite

Region: CALABARZON (Region IV-A)

Capital: Imus, Cavite†

Founded: March 10, 1917

Population:
2000 census—2,063,161 (5th largest)
Density—1,601 per km² (highest)

Area: 1,287.6 km² (9th smallest)

Divisions:
Highly urbanized cities—0
Component cities—3
Municipalities—20
Barangays—828
Congressional districts—3

Languages: Tagalog, Chabacano,English

Governor: Erineo S. Maliksi (2001-2004)

† The seat of government is Trece Martires City

Cavite is one of the fastest growing provinces in the country, because of its close proximity to Metro Manila. Many companies, such as Intel, establish manufacturing plants in one of the numerous industrial parks here.

3 SM malls and 2 Robinsons mall are located here in Cavite. They are the SM City Bacoor, SM City Dasmariñas and the under construction SM Supercenter Molino also in Bacoor, Robinsons Place Imus and Robinsons Place Dasmariñas.

People and Culture

Population. Cavite has a total population of 2,063,161 based on the 2000 census.

Languages. The main languages spoken are Tagalog, Chabacano and English. Although, due to a large number of immigrants from farther provinces because of Cavite's proximity to Manila, a number of people also speaks other languages such as Bikol, Cebuano, and Tagalog.

Religion. Like the whole country, majority (87%) of the population are Roman Catholic while adherents of Iglesia ni Cristo account for 4% of the population. Most of the rest are members of other Christian sects and some are Muslim.

Economy

Geography

Political

Cavite is subdivided into 20 municipalities and 3 cities.

Cities

• Cavite City
• Tagaytay City
• Trece Martires City

Municipalities

Physical

Land. Cavite is the smallest province in the CALABARZON region having an area of 1,287.6 km². Cavite lies on the southern shores of Manila Bay and also includes most of the islands in the bay such as Corregidor. Other islands include Caballo Island, Carabao Island, and El Praile Island.

Most of the province is flat and gradually rises in altitude going southwards towards the Tagaytay Ridge, which overlooks the Taal Lake in Batangas. Tagaytay City is located on this ridge and provides one of the best views of Taal Volcano. The ridge is also the province's highest point at 640 meters above sea level. To the southwest of the province rises the Maragondon Mountains.

The shores of Cavite is relatively straight. Cavite City lies on a peninsula jutting into Manila Bay. Towards the southwest, the shoreline features numerous bays and cliffs especially in the municipalities of Ternate and Maragondon.

The province is cut by five major rivers: Maragondon, Labac, Cañas, Ilang-Ilang and Imus, all emptying into Manila Bay.

Climate. Cavite has two pronounced seasons—the dry season, which usually begins in November and ends in April, and the rainy season, which starts in May and ends in October. The coolest months are January and February while the hottest months are April and May, which considered the summer months.

History

The name of this province is derived from the Tagalog word, kawit, Cavite being its Hispanized form. In fact Cavite is taken from the shape of the center of the city. It is like a hook - in Tagalog, "parang kawit". A look at the map shows that Cavite is located at the tip of the hook. In the early 16th century, around here the Spaniards outfitted galleons for the Manila-Acapulco run, as well as small boats to fend off the constantly marauding Moros who were definitely making the Spaniards take notice of them too well.

Cavite was one of the first sites of the Philippine Revolution, and is the birthplace of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo one of the leaders of the revolution. the Aguinaldo Shrine is located here. Cavite was also the place where Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines from Spain in a ceremony held in Kawit on June 12, 1898.

During the American Period, Cavite was the site of the Cavite Naval Base.

External links

• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cavite
  http://www.cavite.gov.ph

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