Cavite

The present Cavite City was once a mooring place for Chinese junks that came to trade with the settlements around Manila Bay. The land was formerly known as "Tangway". Archeological evidence in coastal areas shows prehistorical settlements.

The Spanish colonizers who arrived in the late 16th century saw the unusual tongue of land jutting out on Manila Bay and saw its deep waters as the main staging ground where they could launch their bulky galleons. It would later become the most important port linking the colony to the outside world through the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade. In 1571, Spanish colonizers established the port and City of Cavite and fortified the settlement as a first line of defense for the city of Manila. Galleons were built and fitted at the port and many Chinese merchants settled in the communities of Bacoor and Kawit, opposite the Spanish city to trade silks, porcelain and other oriental goods.[13]

"A defensive curtained wall was constructed the length of Cavite's western side," beginning from the entrance, "La Estanzuela", and continuing to the end of the peninsula, "Punta de Rivera", with the eastern shore unprotected by a wall. Cavite contained government offices, churches, mission buildings, Spanish homes, Fort San Felipe and the Rivera de Cavite shipyard. Docks were in place to construct galleons and galleys, but without a dry dock, ships were repaired by careening along the beach.[13]

Fort San Felipe, La Fuerza de San Felipe, was built between 1609 and 1616. This quadrilateral structure of curtained walls, with bastions at the corners, contained 20 cannons facing the seashore. Three infantry companies, 180 men each, plus 220 Pampangan infantry, garrisoned the fort.[13]^{: 142–143}

The galleons Espiritu Santo and San Miguel, plus six galleys were constructed between 1606 and 1616. From 1729 to 1739, "the main purpose of the Cavite shipyard was the construction and outfitting of the galleons for the Manila to Acapulco trade run."[13]

The vibrant mix of traders, Spanish seamen from Spain and its Latin-American colonies,[14][15] as well as local residents, gave rise to the use of pidgin Spanish called Chabacano. A great number of Mexican men had settled at Cavite, spread throughout Luzon, and had integrated with the local Philippine population. Some of these Mexicans became Tulisanes (Bandits) that led peasant revolts against Spain.[16] Mexicans weren't the only Latin Americans in Cavite, as there were also a fair number of other Latin Americans, one such was the Puerto Rican, Alonso Ramirez, who became a sailor in Cavite, and published the first Latin American novel called "Infortunios de Alonso Ramirez"[17]

In 1614, the politico-military jurisdiction of Cavite was established. As with many other provinces organized during the Spanish colonial era, Cavite City, the name of the capital, was applied to the whole province, Cavite. The province covered all the present territory except for the town of Maragondon, which used to belong to the Corregimiento of Mariveles. Maragondon was ceded to Cavite in 1754 when Bataan province was created from Pampanga province.[18] Within Maragondon is a settlement established in 1660 by Christian Papuan exiles brought in by the Jesuits from Ternate in the Maluku Islands, and named this land Ternate after their former homeland.[2][3]

Owing to its military importance, Cavite had been attacked by foreigners in their quest to conquer Manila and the Philippines. The Dutch made a surprise attack on the city in 1647, pounding the port incessantly, but were repulsed. In 1672, the British occupied the port during their two-year control in the Philippines.[2]

In the 17th century, encomiendas (Spanish Royal land grants) were given in Cavite and Maragondon to Spanish conquistadores and their families. The religious orders began acquiring these lands, with some donated, enlarging vast haciendas (estates) in Cavite during the 18th and 19th centuries, enriching themselves. These haciendas became the source of bitter conflicts between the friar orders and Filipino farmers and pushed a number of Caviteños to live as outlaws. This opposition to the friar orders was an important factor that drove many Cavite residents to support reform, and later, independence.[2]

In 1872, Filipinos launched their revolt against Spain. Three Filipino priests—Jose Burgos, Mariano Gomez and Jacinto Zamora—were implicated in the Cavite mutiny when 200 Filipinos staged a rebellion within Spanish garrisons. On August 28, 1896, when the revolution against Spain broke out, Cavite became a bloody theater of war. Led by Emilio Aguinaldo, Caviteños made lightning raids on Spanish headquarters, and soon liberated the entire province through the Battle of Alapan. Aguinaldo commanded the Revolution to its successful end – the proclamation of the First Republic of the Philippines on June 12, 1898, in Kawit.

A marker affixed to the Cavite cannon in Winnetka, Illinois, USA that reads "This gun was mounted on the defences of Cavite arsenal which was surrendered to Commodore George Dewey"

During the Spanish–American War, American forces attacked the Spanish squadron in Cavite. The Spanish defeat marked the end of Spanish rule in the country.[2] A captured Spanish cannon from the Cavite arsenal now sits in Village Green Park in Winnetka, Illinois, United States of America.[19]

In May 1942, after the fall of Bataan and Corregidor Island, the Japanese Imperial forces occupied Cavite and made garrisons in each town of the province.

After surviving the Bataan Death March and released from Capas, Tarlac concentration camp United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) Col. Mariano Castañeda, returned to Cavite and secretly organized the guerilla forces in the province.

The Japanese authorities pressured him to accept the position as Provincial Governor of Cavite, he refused many times over until his excuses did not work, much against his will he was forced to accept the position by the Japanese, and by thinking that it would be beneficial to further organize the resistance movement as Governor by day and a guerilla commander by night. Eventually, the Japanese discovered his guerilla connection and raided his house in the attempt to capture him, but he escaped along with Col. Lamberto Javalera by swimming the Imus river up to Salinas, Bacoor and finally joined his comrades in the field in Neneng, the General Headquarters of the Fil American Cavite Guerilla Forces (FACGF) located in Dasmariñas.

At this time due to his organizational skills the FACGF raised a regiment in each of the administrative units and also created attached special battalions Overall, 3 special battalions, 1 medical battalion, 1 signal company, 1 hospital unit, Division GHQ and Staff were raised to provide administrative and combat support. Later on, the FACGF, with a peak of 14,371 Enlisted Men and 1,245 officers, grew into a formidable force to take on the omnipresent rule of the Japanese in the province. At its peak the force contained 14 infantry regiments:

• 1st Infantry Regiment, Imus (Col. Lorenzo Saulog)
• 2nd Infantry Regiment, Bacoor (Col. Francisco Guererro)
• 3rd Infantry Regiment, Silang (Col. Dominador Kiamson)
• 4th Infantry Regiment, Dasmariñas (Col. Estanislao Mangubat Carungcong)
• 5th Infantry Regiment, Barangay Anabu, Imus (Col. Raymundo Paredes)
• 6th Infantry Regiment, Cavite City (Col. Amado Soriano)
• 7th Infantry Regiment, Alfonso (Col. Angeles Hernais)
• 8th Infantry Regiment, Naic (Col. Emilio Arenas)
• 9th Infantry Regiment, Mendez (Col. Maximo Rodrigo)
• 10th Infantry Regiment Kawit (Col. Hugo Vidal)
• 11th Infantry Regiment Imus (Col. Maximo Reyes)
• 12th Infantry Regiment, Amadeo (Col. Daniel Mediran)
• 13th Infantry Regiment, Rosario (Col. Ambrosio Salud)
• 14th Infantry Regiment, Brgy. Paliparan, Dasmariñas (Col. Emiliano De La Cruz)

On January 31, 1945, the liberation of the province of Cavite started with the combined forces of the American 11th Airborne Division under General Swing and Col. Hildebrand and the valiant Caviteño guerilleros of the Fil-American Cavite Guerilla Forces, which liberated the province of Cavite from the Japanese occupiers, and protected at all costs the National Highway 17 from Tagaytay to Las Piñas that serve as the vital supply route of the 11th Airborne Division, paving the way towards the road to the bitter but victorious Battle of Manila.

The economic growth of the country began to creep its way to the province following the end of the Second World War and the restoration of independence. Given its proximity to Manila, the province soon began to feel a transformation into an economic provider of food and industrial goods not just for Metro Manila but for the whole of the country. In 1954, Trece Martires City was created out as a planned capital city from portions of Tanza, Indang, Naic, and General Trias. Despite the transfer of capital status to Imus in 1979, it retains many offices of the provincial government, acting thus as the de facto capital of the province. Also, Tagaytay's high location and cool temperatures would enable it to become a secondary summer capital and a vacation spot especially during the Christmas season, given its proximity to the Manila area.

The economy of Cavite remained largely agricultural during the decades after the war, from the 1940s to the 1980s, with attempts to create industrial estates in the early 1970s largely falling flat in light of the Crony Capitalism and economic crises of the late 1970s and early 1980s.[20]

The Philippines' gradual postwar recovery took a turn for the worse in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with the 1969 Philippine balance of payments crisis being one of the early landmark events.[21] Economic analysts generally attribute this to the ramp-up on loan-funded government spending to promote Ferdinand Marcos’ 1969 reelection campaign,[21][22][23] although Marcos blamed the 1968 formation of the Communist Party of the Philippines as the reason for the social unrest of the period.[24] ^: "43"[25][26] There were clashes between government and communist protesters in the rural areas and the western highlands of Cavite.

Another conflict faced by the Philippines throughout the last part of the 20th century had some of its roots in Cavite - the moro conflict, which was largely sparked by outrage in the wake of exposes about the Jabidah Massacre. The exposes told the story of how a group of moro men were recruited by the military for Operation Merdeka, Marcos' secret plan to invade Sabah and reclaim it from Malaysia, and trained them on the island of Corregidor, which is administered by Cavite province. When for various reasons the recruits decided that they no longer wanted to follow their officers' orders, their officers allegedly shot all the recruits to death, with only one survivor managing to live by feigning death. The exposes angered the Philippines' Muslim minority enough to trigger the Moro conflict, eventually leading to the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).[27][28]

In 1972, one year before the expected end of his last constitutionally allowed term as president in 1973, Ferdinand Marcos placed the Philippines under Martial Law.[29] This allowed Marcos to remain in power for fourteen more years, during which Cavite went through many social and economic ups and downs.[29]

The human rights abuses, crony capitalism, propagandistic construction projects, and personal expensive lifestyles of the Marcos Family[29] prompted opposition from various Filipino citizens despite the risks of arrest and torture.[30] Among the prominent Caviteño oppositionists were Armed Forces Colonel Bonifacio Gillego, who spoke out against human rights abuses by the military and later exposed the fact that Ferdinand Marcos had faked most of his military medals.[31] Another was Roman Catholic Priest Fr. Joe Dizon, who led led protest actions against government corruption and human rights abuses during martial law in the Philippines, political dynasties, and the pork barrel system and brought social issues to the attention of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.[32] Both Gillego and Dizon are honored at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who fought authoritarian rule under Marcos.[33] Other Caviteños honored there include Philippine Navy Captain Danilo Vizmanos, musician Benjie Torralba, activists Modesto "Bong" Sison, Florencio Pesquesa, and Artemio Celestial, Jr., and Nemesio Prudente who would later become president of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.[33]

Presidential Decree No. 1 of 1972 grouped the Provinces of the Philippines into administrative regions, and Cavite was organized into Region IV. The Luzon mainland provinces of this region - Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon - were prioritized for industrialization, and large amounts of agricultural land in Cavite were acquired for conversion into industrial estates throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.[20] However, these government-owned or corporate-owned estates were unsuccessful at first, and many of them became unused lands well into the Philippine economic collapse of the early 1980s.[20] Old Cavite residents who were primarily engaged in agriculture were displaced and left the province, replaced by a rising number of residents from the capital region.[20]

Rosario was the first Cavite town to have several large industrial projects, including a refinery set up by FilOil Refinery Corporation.[20] An influx of new residents into the north and west parts of Carmona led to the separation of these portions into a new town, General Mariano Alvarez, in 1981. The migration had begun in 1968, when the Carmona Resettlement Project was established under the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation (PHHC) - an effort to resettle illegal settlers from around the Quezon Memorial Park area in Quezon City. A site in Carmona was selected, and by the mid-1970s, the resettlement area soon attracted poor and middle class migrants alike from Quezon City, Manila, Makati and Parañaque. Their clamor to have a municipality of their own resulted in the creation of General Mariano Alvarez.[34] Bacoor, given its proximity to Metro Manila, saw the building of the first residential villages during this time, providing accommodation the rising number of workers from the nearby capital.

One geographical feature of Cavite, Mount Sungay, was significantly altered in 1979 when First Lady Imelda Marcos ordered the construction of the Palace in the Sky, a mansion originally intended as a guesthouse for former California Governor Ronald Reagan (who never arrived). This drastically reduced the height of the mountain, which had once been a landmark that helped guide sailors into Manila bay. The mansion remained unfinished after the People Power Revolution in 1986 that toppled the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. The new government renamed it the People's Park in the Sky, to show the excesses of the ousted regime.[35]

In 2002, Region IV was split into two parts: Region IV-A, known as Calabarzon; and Region IV-B, known as Mimaropa.[36] Cavite was made part of Region IV-A, which is also known as the Southern Tagalog Mainland.[37]

Topographic map of Cavite on 1 arc second/30-meter resolution

Situated at the entrance of Manila Bay, Cavite is characterized by rolling hinterlands punctuated by hills; shoreline fronting Manila Bay at sea level; and rugged portion at the boundary with Batangas where the Dos Picos mountains are located. The province has two mountain ranges.

Cavite is divided into four physiographical areas, namely: the lowest lowland area, lowland area, the central hilly area and the upland mountainous area.[40]

• The lowest lowland area is the coastal plain in particular. These areas have extremely low ground level of 0 to 2 m (0.0 to 6.6 ft) elevation compared to the high tide level of about 0.8 meters (2 ft 7 in) from the mean sea level (msl). These are the cities of Cavite, Bacoor and the municipalities of Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, northern part of Carmona and eastern part of Ternate.
• The lowland area consists of the coastal and alluvial plains. These areas have flat ground slope of less than 0.5% and low ground elevation of 2 to 30 meters (6 ft 7 in to 98 ft 5 in). The alluvial plain can be found in the city of Imus and southern part of General Trias. Into these municipalities forms the transition area between the coastal plain and the central hilly area. It also covers some areas of Bacoor, Carmona, Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, and Tanza.
• The third topography type is the central hilly area, generally found on the mountain foot slope. It forms the rolling tuffaceous plateau. This topography includes steep hills, ridges and elevated inland valley. The plateau is characterized with ground elevation ranging from 30 meters (98 ft) to nearly 400 meters (1,300 ft). Its ground slope ranges from 0.5 to 2%. The cities of Trece Martires and Dasmariñas and the municipalities of General Emilio Aguinaldo, General Mariano Alvarez, western part of Ternate, northern parts of Amadeo, Indang, Silang, Magallanes and Maragondon have this kind of topography.
• The last topography type is upland mountainous area, found in the city of Tagaytay and the municipalities of Alfonso, Mendez, southern parts of Amadeo, Indang, Silang, Magallanes and Maragondon. They are situated at a very high elevation above 400 meters (1,300 ft) with slopes of more than 2%.[39] The Tagaytay ridge has an average elevation of 610 metres (2,000 ft) with Mount Sungay at 14°8′31.71″N 121°1′19.02″E, the highest elevation in the province at 716 meters (2,349 ft).[41] The mountain was much higher before with an elevation of 752 meters (2,467 ft),[42] topped by rock formations that resembled horns (Sungay in Tagalog) hence the name. The prominence of the mountain was leveled in half during the construction of People's Park in the Sky during the Marcos administration.

Geologic map of Cavite.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau's (MGB) geologic map of Cavite in 1987,[46] reveals that Taal Tuff underlies the majority of the province (all of Cavite except for Imus City, Bacoor City, Rosario, Noveleta, Kawit, and Cavite City as well as portions of Naic, Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez, General Emilio Aguinaldo, Maragondon, Magallanes, Ternate, Tanza, General Trias, and Dasmariñas). The Taal Tuff consists of fine to medium-grained basaltic tuffs and minor flows, including volcanic breccia and cinders.

According to Corby and others (1951), Taal Tuff is composed of thinly laminated white ash and stringers (thin, discontinuous rock layers) of black cinders. No coarse agglomerates and breccia tuffs resembling the Guadalupe Tuff (now referred to as the Diliman Tuff part of the Guadalupe Formation) were seen. It extends across Batangas, Cavite, and Laguna and has a maximum thickness of more than 400 meters (Teves, 1954).[47]

A newly designated stratigraphic unit, the Mataas na Gulod Volcanic Complex (MGB, 2004), resembles the Taal Tuff and its distribution region in Cavite and Batangas. Basalt, andesite, breccia, pyroclastic rocks, and lahar make up its lithology (Peña, 2008). Currently, there seems to be no information on when Taal Tuff will be updated.

Diliman Tuff underlies almost half of Tanza and General Trias, a part of Naic and Dasmariñas, and the whole of Bacoor and Imus. Alat Conglomerate is the lowest member of the Guadalupe Formation, whereas Diliman Tuff is the upper member. Flat-lying and moderately to thinly bedded, the Diliman Tuff is composed of fine-grained vitric tuff, welded pyroclastic breccia, and minor fine- to medium-grained tuffaceous sandstone. The matrix of the glassy tuff contains minute quantities of black mafic minerals, pumiceous, and scoriaceous materials.

Most mountain ridges in Ternate and Maragondon are composed of Lobo Agglomerate, whereas Magallanes has just a few minor areas. Massive agglomerates and volcanic breccia composed of well-cemented andesite and dacite clasts set in a fine matrix of the same composition with modest interbedded and intercalated lapilli tuffs define this rock type. It is identical to the Sampiro Agglomerates of dela Cruz and Abadilla (1958) as well as the conglomerate of Cruz and Mantaring (1969) (MGB, 1987).

The Lobo Agglomerate is now considered a part of the Pinamucan Formation. It is situated on the top horizon of the Pinamucan Formation (Avila, 1980). The Pinamucan Formation is an interbedded series of conglomerate, sandstone, fine-grained tuffaceous clastics, tuff, and shale that may be found in Batangas, along the upper Pinamucan, upper Calumpit, and middle Lobo rivers. The conglomerate is slightly indurated and composed of well-sorted pebbles of andesite, diorite, and metasediments embedded in a sandy tuffaceous matrix (MGB, 1987; Pea, 2008). This formation appears as a single patch across the border between Maragondon and Magallanes.

In some mountain areas of Maragondon and Magallanes, the Talahib Andesite is observed. It consists mainly of andesite flows interbedded with thin layers of pyroclastic and bedded tuff (MGB, 1987). In addition, the andesite is vesicular, amygdaloidal, flow banded, and displays indications of propylitization (epidote and chlorite were seen). Also discovered were silicification and pyritization, although only locally along shear zones. The Talahib Andesite (Avila, 1980) is equivalent to the Nasugbu Volcanic Complex (Malicdem and others, 1963), the Batangas Extrusives and Pyroclastics (Malicdem and others, 1963), the Batangas Volcanics (Corby and others, 1951), and the Banoy Volcanics (Wolfe and others, 1980).[48]

Quaternary Alluvium was abundant in the coastal areas, alluvial plains, and a large portion of the low-lying areas of Ternate, Maragondon, Carmona, General Mariano Alvarez, Naic, Tanza, Rosario, Noveleta, Kawit, Cavite City, Imus, General Trias, and Bacoor. It consists of coastal and river deposits of unconsolidated sediments, including sand and gravel.

Cavite's land resources are categorized into two: forest lands and alienable and disposable lands. Forest lands are being maintained as they play a great role in the ecological balance of the province aside from the fact that they are home to numerous flora and fauna that needs to be protected and preserved. Correspondingly, the alienable and disposable lands are the built-up areas as well as production areas. These lands are intended for urban, economic and demographic developments.

Cavite province lies in the western monsoon forest zone. This location is very beneficial for the formation of tropical rainforests, which are characteristically made through natural vegetation. In 2007, the existing forest area within the province totaled only to 8,625 hectares (21,310 acres). These forest areas were categorized as Protected Landscape under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) and the rest, unclassified forest (Non-NIPAS). A total of 4,000 hectares (9,900 acres) are located within the Mounts Palay-Palay–Mataas-na-Gulod Protected Landscape, a protected area in Ternate and Maragondon created by Proclamation Number 1594 on October 26, 1976. The park lies at the border of Cavite and Batangas and encompasses three peaks, Palay-Palay, Pico de Loro and Mataas na Gulod. The five unclassified forests are found along Tagaytay Ridge, Maragondon, Magallanes, Ternate and Alfonso. The other mountain peaks in the province are Mt. Buntis, Mt. Nagpatong, Mt. Hulog and Mt. Gonzales (Mt. Sungay).

Cavite's forest provides an abundance of different forest products. Bamboo, a member of the grass family, is one of the most available forest products found in the municipalities of Ternate, Magallanes, Maragondon and General Aguinaldo throughout the year.

These lands are being used in various ways, either for agriculture, residences, open areas, etc. Based on the Cavite Provincial Physical Framework Plan 2005–2010, Cavite's alienable and disposable lands are further classified into production lands and built-up areas. Production lands in Cavite are intended for agriculture, fishery, and mining. On the other hand, built-up areas are mainly for residential areas, commercial, industrial and tourism areas.

Majority of production land-use is for agriculture. Considering that 50.33% of the total provincial land area is engaged in agriculture, it can be generalized that in spite of rapid urbanization in the province, Cavite remains to have an agricultural economy that makes food security attainable. Some of the major crops being produced in the province are rice, corn, coffee, coconuts, cut flowers and vegetables.

Included in the agricultural land use are livestock farms that range from piggery, poultry, goat and cattle farms. The climatic suitability of Cavite makes the province ideal for integrated farming, having crops and livestock raising in one farm.

Fishery is also another major component of the agricultural sector. Having rich marine resources and long coastlines, the province is home to numerous fishery activities providing livelihood to many Caviteños. In some lowland and even upland areas, fishery, in the form of fish ponds are also producing a large amount of fish products. Some areas in Cavite are also engaged in fish processing and production of fish products like fish sauce.

Mining is the third component of production land-use in the province. As of 2009, there are 15 mining and quarrying areas operating in Cavite. Extraction includes filling materials, gravel, and sand.

The built-up areas are mainly composed of residential and industrial sites. This also includes commercial and business areas where commerce is transpiring. According to the 2007 Census of Population and Housing by the Philippine Statistics Authority, there are 611,450 occupied housing units in Cavite.

Moreover, according to the Housing and Land-Use Regulatory Board, there are around 1,224 housing subdivisions with issued license to sell in the province until 2009 which occupies an area of 9,471 hectares.

Meanwhile, the industrial sector also develops rapidly in the province. For 2009, operational industrial estates cover around 2,939 hectares (7,260 acres). Tourism establishments are also considered built-up areas such as golf courses, leisure farms, resorts and the likes.[39]

The hydrological network of the province is composed of seven major rivers and its tributaries. These river systems generally flows from the highlands of Tagaytay and Maragondon to Manila Bay. Numerous springs, waterfalls and rivers found in the upland areas of the province, have been developed for tourism. In the lowland areas, hundreds of artesian wells and deep wells provide water supply for both residential and irrigation purposes.

Cavite shoreline stretches about 123 kilometers (76 mi). The communities located along the coast are Cavite City, Bacoor, Kawit, Noveleta, Rosario, Tanza, Naic, Maragondon, and Ternate. The richness of Cavite's coastal resources is a major producer of oysters and mussels. The fishing industry also produces shrimp and bangus (milkfish). The western coastline are lined with pale gray sand beaches popular with tourists. Thus, fishery and tourism contribute to the economic activity of the province.[49]

Cavite is composed of several soil types according to soil surveys conducted by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM). Classification of soil types in a specific area is a very important consideration in identifying its most fitted land-use. This way, utmost productivity can be achieved.

The lowland area of Cavite is generally composed of Guadalupe clay and clay loam. It is characterized as coarse and granular when dry but sticky and plastic when wet. Its substratum is solid volcanic tuff. These types of soils are suited to lowland rice and corn while those in the upland are suited for orchard and pasture. Guadalupe clay adobes are abundant in the southern part of Bacoor and Imus bordering Dasmariñas. The soil is hard and compact and difficult to cultivate that makes it generally unsuitable for diverse cropping. It is very sticky when wet and granular when dry. Forage grass is advised for this type of soil. Hydrosol and Obando sand are found along Bacoor Bay. The shoreline of Rosario, Tanza, Naic and Ternate are lined with Guadalupe sand.

The central area principally consists of Magallanes loam with streaks of Magallanes clay loam of sandy texture. This is recommended for diversified farming such as the cultivation of upland rice, corn, sugarcane, vegetables, coconut, coffee, mangoes and other fruit trees. The steep phase should be forested or planted to root crops. The eastern side of Cavite consists of Carmona clay loam with streaks of Carmona clay loam steep phase and Carmona sandy clay loam. This type of soil is granular with tuffaceous material and concretions. It is hard and compact when dry, sticky and plastic when wet. This type of soil is planted to rice with irrigation or sugarcane without irrigation. Fruit trees such as mango, avocado and citrus are also grown in this type of soil. Guingua fine sandy loam is found along the lower part of Malabon and Alang-ilang River at Noveleta.

The type of soils that dominate the upland areas are Tagaytay loam and Tagaytay sandy loam with mountain soil undifferentiated found on the south-eastern side bordering Laguna province. Also on the southern tip are Magallanes clay and Mountain soil undifferentiated with interlacing of Magallanes clay loam steep phase. The Tagaytay loam contains fine sandy materials, moderately friable, and easy to work on when moist. In an undisturbed condition, it bakes and becomes hard when dry. About one-half of this soil type is devoted to upland rice and upland crops. On the other hand, Tagaytay sandy loam is friable and granular with considerable amount of volcanic sand and underlain by adobe clay. Mountain soil undifferentiated is forested with bamboos found in the sea coast. Cavite also has the Patungan sand characterized by pale gray to almost white sand with substratum of marine conglomerates which are found at Santa Mercedes in Maragondon and in some coastlines of Ternate.[39]

The greater parts of Cavite are composed of volcanic materials, tuff, cinders, basalt, breccias, agglomerate and interbeddings of shales, and sandstones. The dormant and active volcanoes (Taal) are within these volcanic areas and have been the sources of volcanic materials which form the Tagaytay Cuesta. The drainage systems are deeply entrenched in the tuffs, eroding thin interbedded sandstones and conglomerate rocks which are the sources of little reserves of sand and gravel in the larger stream. Adobe stone quarries also flourish in the tuff areas.

Cavite coastal areas have marl and conglomerate sedimentary rocks and some igneous rocks which are prominent in the high, mountainous regions of western part of the province. Black sands are found in Kawit while Noveleta has its own salt products. Magallanes has gravel deposits while reserves of sand and gravel materials are found in Alfonso, Carmona, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Naic, Ternate, Maragondon and Silang.[39]

Cavite comprises 15 municipalities and 8 cities:

Political divisions

Cavite belongs to Type 1 climate based on the Climate Map of the Philippines by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). Being a Type 1, 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.[39] The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Am" (Tropical Monsoon Climate).[52]

In line with national statistics, Christianity is the predominant faith in the province, composed of Catholics, Protestants, and other Independent Christian groups. The majority (70%) of the population are Roman Catholic under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Imus.

Adherents of the Philippine Independent Church, also known as the Aglipayan Church, under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cavite are particularly found in the towns where historically the Philippine Revolution and anti-clericalist sentiments are strong.

The Eastern Orthodox Church presence in Cavite province was a part of the Philippine Orthodox Church here in the Philippines under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Moscow and its own Orthodox Diocese province in Southeast Asia the Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam. Many Orthodox community lives throughout the province especially in the city of Tagaytay.[57][58]

The strong presence of other Christian denominations and sects such as the mainline Protestant Evangelical Churches, Christian Fellowships and other Christian sects are also evident throughout the province. Chapels of the Iglesia ni Cristo also known as INC, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church including its key institutions such as the Adventist University of the Philippines and Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies are in Cavite.[59] Meanwhile, the Members Church of God International has established coordinating centers throughout the province and a local convention center situated in Biga, Silang, Cavite.

With the influx of Filipino Muslim migrants from the Mindanao, local Caviteño Balik Islam or reverts, and some non-Filipino expats, their OFW spouses and children returning from Muslim countries, Sunni Islam of either the Shafii or Hanbali schools-of-thought has become evident in various areas of the province, and accounts for the majority of the non-Christian population.

Mosques, prayer halls, and prayer rooms catering to the community exist in places where local Muslim Caviteños live and work; especially in the municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Rosario, and Dasmariñas.

Interreligious dialogue and communal relations between the majority Christians and minority Muslims are peaceful and amicable, with some families consisting of both Christian and Muslim members.

Non-Abrahamic faiths include native Tagalog anitism, animism, Sikhism, and Hinduism. Among the local Chinese and Chinese-Filipino communities, Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism are followed.

The main languages spoken are Tagalog, Chavacano and English. Due to the province of Metro Manila bordering Cavite to the south, a large number of people from farther provinces have migrated to Cavite, resulting in minor but significant usage of the Bicolano, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon and Waray languages.

Chavacano or Chabacano is a Spanish-based creole language and known in linguistics as Philippine Creole Spanish. Chabacano is originally spoken by the majority of the Caviteños that lived in Cavite City and Ternate after the arrival of the Spaniards three centuries ago. The various groups in the area of different linguistic backgrounds adopted a pidgin language, with mostly Spanish vocabulary, in order to communicate with each other. As children grew up in Cavite with that pidgin as their native language, it evolved into a creole language.[60]

Now used almost exclusively in Cavite City and coastal Ternate, Chabacano enjoyed its widest diffusion and greatest splendor in Spanish and American period of Filipino history, when newspapers and literary outputs flourished. Cavite Chabacano was spoken with relative ease because it was essentially a simplification of Castillan morphology patterned after the Tagalog syntax. Gradually and naturally, it acquired the sounds present in the Spanish phonological system. After World War II, creole Spanish speakers within the capital of the archipelago vanished. Around 30,000 Caviteños still speak Chabacano, mostly elderly speakers. The language is today taught in elementary schools in both Cavite City and Ternate as part of the K-12 national curriculum from the first to 3rd grades, building up a new generation of speakers and writers within the province.

Foundation Day

Cavite Province celebrates its foundation every March 10

Birthday of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo

This is celebrated every March 22 in commemoration of the birth of the First President of the Republic.

Independence Day

This is celebrated every June 12 in Kawit as a re-enactment of the historic proclamation of Philippine independence at the mansion of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo.

Rice plantation in Carmona

The province is predominantly an agriculture province. The province's economy is largely dependent on agriculture. Despite urbanization and industrialization, still, a significant number of inhabitants are engaged into agribusinesses. The data gathered from Office of the Provincial Agriculturist shows that though the province lies in the industrial belt, the agricultural land is about 49.38 percent or 70,466.53 hectares (174,126.6 acres) of the total land area of the Province. This is 1,176.5 hectares (2,907 acres) bigger than that of the declared agricultural lands in 2008 (69,290.03 hectares or 171,219.4 acres).

The municipality of Maragondon has the biggest area intended for agriculture, accounts for 14.57% of the total provincial agricultural lands while Cavite City has no longer available land for agriculture related activities and industries. If based on total agricultural lands, we may say that the major players in agriculture in the province are Maragondon, Silang, Indang, Naic and Alfonso. Of the eight districts in the province, the top three with the widest agricultural area are 7th District comprising 43,587.01 hectares (107,705.8 acres) or 61.85 percent of the total agricultural areas with 27,115 farmers followed by 6th District with 17.40 percent or 12,257.71 hectares (30,289.5 acres) having 8,701 farmers and 5th District comprising 10,248.55 hectares (25,324.7 acres) with 10,295 farmers. The municipality of Silang has the most farmers. The municipality of Maragondon only ranks 3rd in terms of number of farmers. This can be attributed to highly mechanized operations and vast plantations of rice. The same is true with General Trias and Naic, known as the rice producing municipalities in Cavite. The number of farmers increased by 6.5% that corresponds to around 3,097 farmers. The increase in the number of farmers was due to worldwide recession which led to work displacement of some inhabitants. Silang is dominated by pineapple and coffee plantations as well as with cut flower production.[68]

Cavite has twelve economic zones. The largest economic zone under development is located in General Trias, the PEC Industrial Park with 177 hectares (440 acres) intended for garments, textiles, semiconductors, food processing and pharmaceuticals.[68]

Cavite's total road network comprises roughly 1,973 kilometers (1,226 mi). Of these, the 407.7-kilometer (253.3 mi) national roads are mostly paved with concrete or asphalt and are relatively in good condition with some portions in need of rehabilitation. Provincial roads stretches to an approximate total length of 335.1 kilometers (208.2 mi). Most of these roads are concrete, some are paved with asphalt and the rest remain gravel roads. Majority of the municipal/city roads are paved with concrete, while barangay roads consist of 46.7% concrete and asphalt roads and 53.3% earth and gravel roads.

There are three main highways traversing the province: Aguinaldo Highway runs in a general north–south direction which includes the Tagaytay–Nasugbu Highway segment in the south; the Governor's Drive runs in a general east–west direction; the Antero Soriano Highway runs within the coastal towns on the northwest. The existing road length computed in terms of road density with respect to population at the standard of 2.4 kilometers (1.5 mi) per 1,000 population has a deficit of 3,532.71 kilometers (2,195.12 mi).

In 1985, the tolled Cavite Expressway (CAVITEx) was opened, which lessened the heavy volume of vehicles on Aguinaldo Highway in Bacoor. This project decreased the traffic congestion in Aguinaldo Highway in Bacoor, so travel time from Imus to Baclaran/Pasay is lessened to only one hour.

In 2013, the Kaybiang Tunnel, the country's longest underground highway tunnel at 300 meters (980 ft) was opened along the Ternate–Nasugbu Road piercing through Mt. Pico De Loro's north ridge, and shortens the travel time from Manila to the western coves of Cavite and Nasugbu, Batangas.[73]

Last July 24, 2015, the Muntinlupa–Cavite Expressway (MCX), a 4 km (2.5 mi) long access-controlled toll expressway linking the southern province of Cavite to Muntinlupa in the Philippines, was opened to the public. The road is expected to reduce travel time by an average of 45 minutes from Daang Hari to Alabang Interchange as well as decongest traffic in Cavite, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

Currently, Cavite province is served by three DPWH offices: Cavite 1st, Cavite 2nd and Cavite Sub District Engineering Offices.

The Department of Transportation had "no objection" to an offer building a ₱508-billion airport complex on reclaimed land in Sangley Point. The upcoming international airport was pursued as a joint venture between investors, including Chinese enterprises, and the Cavite LGU.[74]

The Cavite–Laguna Expressway (CALAEx) is an under-construction expressway that will cross the provinces of Cavite and Laguna in the Philippines. The construction of the four-lane 47-kilometer (29 mi) long expressway will connect CAVITEx in Kawit to South Luzon Expressway in Biñan, Laguna. When constructed, it is expected to ease the traffic in the Cavite–Laguna region, particularly in Aguinaldo Highway, Santa Rosa–Tagaytay Road and Governor's Drive. As of 2023, it is partially operational from Biñan to Silang, Cavite.

Cavite–Tagaytay–Batangas Expressway is also a proposed expressway connects with CALAX from Silang, Cavite to Nasugbu, Batangas. CTBEx is a future alternative route for tourists going to Tagaytay and Nasugbu.

The LRT Line 1 South Extension Project or Cavite Extension Project through southern Metro Manila to the Province of Cavite has been identified as an integral link of the Rail Transit Network by Metro Manila Urban Transportation Integration Study (MMUTIS). It is one of the priority projects of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and LRTA. It is also a flagship project of the Office of the President.

The project aims to expand the existing LRT Line 1 service southward to the cities of Parañaque, Las Piñas and the city of Bacoor in the Cavite Province. The 11.7 km (7.3 mi) route of the light railway system that will start from Baclaran to Niog was planned to carry a capacity of 40,000 passengers per direction per hour. The extension will have 48 air-conditioned coaches, 12-four car trains, 8 passenger stations and a satellite depot in Cavite. The groundbreaking of LRT Line 1 South Extension Project was held on Thursday, May 4, 2017. The actual construction officially started on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, because the Right-of-way is "free and clear" from obstructions. Once it is fully operational, Cavite will be served by the LRT-1 (via Niog station). The extension is slated for partial operations by late 2024 or early 2025 and full operations by second quarter of 2027. This is the second project outside Metro Manila after the planned MRT-7 that starts from North Avenue, Quezon City and it will end in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan. The said project will serve approximately 1.9 million commuters based in Pasay, Paranaque, Las Piñas and Bacoor.

The proposed LRT Line 6 project would further extend the LRT system by another 19 kilometers all the way to Dasmariñas from the proposed end in Niog in Bacoor, Cavite.

The mass transit system would pass along the Aguinaldo Highway and would have stations in Niog, Tirona station, Imus station, Daang Hari station, Salitran station, Congressional Avenue station, and Governor's Drive station. The project will improve passenger mobility and reduce the volume of vehicular traffic in the Cavite area by providing a higher capacity mass transit system. It also aims to spur economic development along the extension corridor.

• Juanito Victor Remulla (NUP)

• Athena Tolentino (National Unity Party)