Kawit

Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit (Tagalog: Bayan ng Kawit), is a first-class municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,535.[3] It is one of the notable places that had a major role in the country's history during the 1800s and 1900s.

Kawit
Cavite el Viejo
Municipality of Kawit
Aguinaldo Shrine
Flag of Kawit
Official seal of Kawit
Nickname: 
Motto(s): 
Alab ng Puso
(Flaming Heart)
Map of Cavite with Kawit highlighted
Map of Cavite with Kawit highlighted
OpenStreetMap
Kawit is located in Philippines
Kawit
Kawit
Location within the Philippines
Coordinates: 14°26′N 120°54′E
CountryPhilippines
RegionCalabarzon
ProvinceCavite
District 1st district
Founded1898
Barangays23 (see Barangays)
Government
[1]
  TypeSangguniang Bayan
  MayorAngelo Emilio G. Aguinaldo
  Vice MayorEdward R. Samala Jr.
  RepresentativeRamon Revilla III
  Municipal Council
Members
  Electorate62,698 voters (2022)
Area
  Total25.15 km2 (9.71 sq mi)
Elevation
6.0 m (19.7 ft)
Highest elevation
47 m (154 ft)
Lowest elevation
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2020 census)[3]
  Total107,535
  Density4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
  Households
29,082
DemonymKawiteño
Economy
  Income class1st municipal income class
  Poverty incidence
5.66
% (2018)[4]
  Revenue364.5 million (2020)
  Assets582.3 million (2020)
  Expenditure383.4 million (2020)
  Liabilities178.9 million (2020)
Service provider
  ElectricityManila Electric Company (Meralco)
Time zoneUTC+8 (PST)
ZIP code
4104
PSGC
IDD:area code+63(0)46
Native languagesTagalog and Chavacano Caviteño

Formerly known as Cavite el Viejo, it is the location of his home, and the name Kawit is from the word kalawit, the Aguinaldo Shrine, where independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. It is also the birthplace of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first president of the Philippines, who from 1895 to 1897, served as the municipality's chief executive.

Etymology

The name Kawit is derived from the Tagalog word kawit kalawit (hook), which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hook-shaped shoreline along Manila Bay extending to the tip of Cavite City.

Legend, however, gives another version on how the town got its name. One day, a Spanish visitor asked a native blacksmith about the name of the village. The latter was busy at the time pounding on the anvil a piece of hot metal that looked like a hook. He hesitated to speak, not understanding what the stranger was asking, but when pressed for an answer, and thinking that he wanted to know what he was doing, he merely said kawit. The Spanish left muttering the word kawit. In the course of the time, the word evolved into cauite, and finally cavite.

History

Kawit was the most thriving settlement prior to the coming of the Spanish. In fact, the town provided the first anchorage of the Spanish in the province, whence colonization and proselytization of the Christian religion began, spreading to all corners of the province.

For a long time, the place was called by the Spanish "Cavite el Viejo" or Old Cavite to distinguish it from "Cavite la Punta" or "Cavite el Puerto", the commercial port and naval base (now Cavite City) whence came many Spanish marines on shore leave who made frequent visits to Cavite el Viejo, eventually turning it into a red-light district. This seedy reputation of the town was erased when Saint Mary Magdalene was made patroness, under the spiritual supervision of the Jesuits as ordered by Miguel García Serrano, O.S.A. (1618–1629), the fifth Archbishop of Manila.

With the establishment in the wake of the Philippine Revolution, the Philippine Independent Church built a shrine to Saint Michael, the Archangel in the barrio of Binakayan in 1902.

Cavite el Viejo was then a big town, comprising the municipality of Kawit today, Cavite la Punta (now Cavite City), Noveleta (called Tierra Alta by the Spanish), and Imus. Eventually, these three barrios' populations grew and they eventually seceded to become independent municipalities.

Aside from its role as the birthplace of independence, Kawit was also the site of the Battle of Binakayan-Dalahican, one of several Filipino victories during the Revolution.

Geography

Barangays

Kawit is politically subdivided into 23 barangays.[5] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

  • Balsahan-Bisita
  • Batong Dalig
  • Binakayan-Aplaya
  • Binakayan-Kanluran
  • Congbalay-Legaspi
  • Gahak
  • Kaingen
  • Magdalo (Putol)
  • Manggahan-Lawin
  • Marulas
  • Panamitan
  • Poblacion
  • Pulvorista/Polvorista
  • Samala-Marquez
  • San Sebastian
  • Santa Isabel
  • Tabon I
  • Tabon II
  • Tabon III
  • Toclong (Different from Toclong in neighboring Imus)
  • Tramo-Bantayan
  • Wakas I
  • Wakas II

Climate

Climate data for Kawit, Cavite
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 29
(84)
30
(86)
32
(90)
34
(93)
32
(90)
31
(88)
29
(84)
29
(84)
29
(84)
30
(86)
30
(86)
29
(84)
30
(87)
Average low °C (°F) 21
(70)
20
(68)
21
(70)
22
(72)
24
(75)
25
(77)
24
(75)
24
(75)
24
(75)
23
(73)
22
(72)
21
(70)
23
(73)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 10
(0.4)
10
(0.4)
12
(0.5)
27
(1.1)
94
(3.7)
153
(6.0)
206
(8.1)
190
(7.5)
179
(7.0)
120
(4.7)
54
(2.1)
39
(1.5)
1,094
(43)
Average rainy days 5.2 4.5 6.4 9.2 19.7 24.3 26.9 25.7 24.4 21.0 12.9 9.1 189.3
Source: Meteoblue[6]

Demographics

Population census of Kawit
YearPop.±% p.a.
1903 6,114    
1918 6,855+0.77%
1939 10,783+2.18%
1948 13,970+2.92%
1960 19,352+2.75%
1970 28,447+3.92%
1975 33,813+3.53%
1980 39,368+3.09%
1990 47,755+1.95%
1995 56,993+3.37%
2000 62,751+2.08%
2007 76,405+2.75%
2010 78,209+0.85%
2015 83,466+1.25%
2020 107,535+5.11%
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority[7][8][9][10]

In the 2020 census, the population of Kawit was 107,535 people,[3] with a density of 4,700 inhabitants per square kilometre or 12,000 inhabitants per square mile.

Economy

Culture

Maytinis Festival

An original Kawit tradition that takes place every Christmas Eve, a dramatic retelling of the Virgin Mary and Joseph's search in Bethlehem for a place to stay called "Panunuluyan". This reenactment happens on the streets of Kawit with different floats depicting different biblical scenes from Adam and Eve up to Mary and Joseph. The "Panunuluyan" takes place in several houses and is done in singing until it reaches the 400-year-old St. Mary Magdalene Church, where the Virgin Mary and Joseph are welcomed by angels in a giant belen (Nativity Scene), which covers the whole main Retablo or altarpiece of the church. The songs performed by the angels acted by little girls are mostly in Spanish and Tagalog.

Government

Local government

Like any other Philippine municipality, Kawit is headed by a municipal mayor, vice mayor, and 10 councilors, eight of them elected at large by the voting populace and two of them being sectoral representatives (one for the barangays and one for the youth, elected respectively through their federations).

The current mayor of the historical town is Angelo Emilio G. Aguinaldo, who succeeded his father, Reynaldo "Tik" Aguinaldo, after winning over former Vice Mayor Paul Plaridel A. Abaya Jr. by a historic margin of 5,039 votes in the last May 2016 elections.

Mayor Angelo Aguinaldo served as a Sangguniang Bayan member from 2013 to 2016.

Then Mayor Reynaldo "Tik" Aguinaldo was elevated to the mayorship after three terms as vice mayor. The scion of the first Philippine president has twice (2007 and 2010) beaten Federico "Hit" Poblete, another descendant of Emilio Aguinaldo (youngest son of Maria Aguinaldo y Poblete: one of General Emilio Aguinaldo's daughters), Poblete served a total of five terms as its chief executive. He used to be an undersecretary for the Department of Agrarian Reform under the Estrada administration after his first three terms as mayor (1988–1998).

Sister city

  • Japan Sakegawa, Yamagata., Japan[18]

See also

Images

References

  1. Municipality of Kawit | (DILG)
  2. "2015 Census of Population, Report No. 3 – Population, Land Area, and Population Density" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. Quezon City, Philippines. August 2016. ISSN 0117-1453. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 25, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2021.
  3. Census of Population (2020). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  4. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  5. "Province: Cavite". PSGC Interactive. Quezon City, Philippines: Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
  6. "Kawit: Average Temperatures and Rainfall". Meteoblue. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. Census of Population (2015). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved June 20, 2016.
  8. Census of Population and Housing (2010). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)" (PDF). Total Population by Province, City, Municipality and Barangay. National Statistics Office. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  9. Censuses of Population (1903–2007). "Region IV-A (Calabarzon)". Table 1. Population Enumerated in Various Censuses by Province/Highly Urbanized City: 1903 to 2007. National Statistics Office.
  10. "Province of Cavite". Municipality Population Data. Local Water Utilities Administration Research Division. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  11. "Poverty incidence (PI):". Philippine Statistics Authority. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  12. "Estimation of Local Poverty in the Philippines" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. November 29, 2005.
  13. "2003 City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. March 23, 2009.
  14. "City and Municipal Level Poverty Estimates; 2006 and 2009" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. August 3, 2012.
  15. "2012 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates" (PDF). Philippine Statistics Authority. May 31, 2016.
  16. "Municipal and City Level Small Area Poverty Estimates; 2009, 2012 and 2015". Philippine Statistics Authority. July 10, 2019.
  17. "PSA Releases the 2018 Municipal and City Level Poverty Estimates". Philippine Statistics Authority. December 15, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  18. "List of Sister City Affiliations with Japan (by country)". Clair Singapore. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
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