Cavite


, officially the Province of , is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Metro Manila, it is one of the most industrialized and fastest-growing provinces in the Philippines. Its population of 3,678,301 makes it one of the most populated provinces in the country. Originally agricultural and now a booming bedroom community for ultracongested Metro Manila, its location just north of Taal volcano poses significant risks of ashfall, and debris flows through it into Manila Bay.
The de facto capital of the province is Trece Martires, although Imus is the official capital.
For over 300 years, the province played an important role in both the country's colonial past and eventual fight for independence, earning it the title "Historical Capital of the Philippines". It became the cradle of the Philippine Revolution, which led to the renouncement of Spanish colonial control, finally culminating in the Philippine Declaration of Independence on June12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. The old provincial capital, Cavite City also hosted docks for the Manila galleon, becoming an essential part of commerce between Asia and Latin America.

Etymology

The name "Cavite" comes from the Hispanicized form of kawit or it may be a corruption of kalawit, Tagalog words for "hook", in reference to the small hook-shaped peninsula jutting out to Manila Bay. The name originally applied to the peninsula, Cavite La Punta and the adjacent lowland coastal area of Cavite Viejo.
Another theory proposes that the name is a Hispanicized form of kabit, Tagalog for "joined", "connected", or "attached", referring to the peninsula's topographical relation to the mainland. Edmund Roberts, in his 1821 memoir, stated that the "natives" called it Caveit due to the "crooked point of land extending into the sea".

History

Pre-Hispanic period

The present Cavite City was once a mooring place for Chinese junks trading that came to trade with the settlements around Manila Bay. The land was formerly known as "Tangway". Archeological evidence in coastal areas show prehistorical settlements. According to local folklore, the earliest settlers of Cavite came from Sulu or Borneo. The territory of what is Cavite used to be under the jurisdiction of the Indianized Empire of Majapahit which was superseded by the Kingdom of Tondo which had waged a successful war for independence, thereafter, invaded by the Sultanate of Brunei which established a vassal-state, the Rajahnate of Maynila.

Spanish colonial period

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.
"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.
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.
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."
The vibrant mix of traders, Spanish seamen from Spain and its Latin-American colonies, as well as local residents, gave rise to the use of pidgin Spanish called Chabacano.
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. 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.
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.
In the 17th century, encomiendas 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 in Cavite during the 18th and 19th century, 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.
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.
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. A captured Spanish cannon from the Cavite arsenal now sits in Village Green Park in Winnetka, Illinois, USA.

World War 2 Japanese Occupation and Liberation

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 in the Bataan Death March and released from Capas, Tarlac concentration camp USAFFE Col. Mariano N. Castaneda, a future governor of the province, returned to Cavite and secretly organized the resistance movement 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 by night. Eventually, the Japanese discovered his guerrilla 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 FACGF located in Dasmarinas.
At this time due to his organizational skills the Fil American Cavite Guerilla Forces 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:
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 valliant Caviteño guerrilleros 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 Pinas 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.

Postwar growth

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 distance from 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 City 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 distance to the Manila area.
Plan CALABARZON of 1972, in the midst of martial law and the communist and anti-government aggression that occurred in the rural areas and the western highlands, set the roadmap for the arrival of industrial estates to the province, beginning an era of economic progress. Carmona was the first town to have industrial estates, through the rising number of residents from the capital region enabled the creation of a new town, General Mariano Alvarez, in 1981, from parts of the town's north and west. In addition, Bacoor, given its distance from Metro Manila, saw the building of the first residential villages to accommodate the rising number of workers in the capital in the same period, and today, this city, alongside other towns and cities in the province's north and central parts, have more residential subdivisions and townships, as well as a number of shopping malls and other private business establishments.

Geography

Cavite is surrounded by Laguna province to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas province to the south. To the west lies the West Philippine Sea. It is located within the Greater Manila Area, not to be confused with adjacent Metro Manila, the defined capital region.
Cavite is the second-smallest province in the Calabarzon region. Cavite occupies a land area of, which is approximately 8.72 percent of Calabarzon's total land area, 2.74 percent of the regional area and 0.48 per cent of the total land area of the Philippines. The municipalities of Maragondon and Silang have the biggest land areas, comprising and respectively, while the municipality of Noveleta has the smallest land area as indicated by or 0.38 percent of the provincial total and area.

Topography and slope

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.
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 for 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.

Forest lands

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. These forest areas were categorized as Protected Landscape under the National Integrated Protected Area System and the rest, unclassified forest. A total of 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.
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.

Alienable and disposable lands

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.

Production land-use

Majority of production land-use is for agriculture. Considering that 50.33% of the total provincial land area is engaged into 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.

Built-up areas

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. Tourism establishments are also considered built-up areas such as golf courses, leisure farms, resorts and the likes.

Water resources

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. 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. The western coastline are lined with of pale gray sand beaches popular with tourists. Thus, fishery and tourism contributes to the economic activity of the province.

Major rivers

These rivers are known to have various tributaries passing through the municipalities of the province:

Springs

Waterfalls

Soil properties

Cavite is composed of several soil types according to soil surveys conducted by the Bureau of Soils and Water Management. 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 rootcrops. 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 tuffaceaous 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.

Mineral resources and reserves

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 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.

Administrative divisions

Cavite comprises 16 municipalities and 7 cities:

Climate

Cavite belongs to Type 1 climate based on the Climate Map of the Philippines by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. 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. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Am".

Demographics

Cavite had a total population of in the, making it the most populous, and the second most densely populated province in the country. The tremendous increase can be observed in the year 1990 when industrialization was introduced in the province. Investors established their businesses in different industrial estates that magnetized people to migrate to Cavite due to job opportunities the province offers. Another factor attributed to the increase of population is the mushrooming of housing subdivisions. Since Cavite is proximate to Metro Manila, people working in the metropolitan area choose to live in the province together with their families. Natural increase also contributes to the increase in population. The population density of the province based on the was.
Among the cities and municipalities in Cavite, the city of Dasmariñas has the biggest population with 659,019 people while the municipality of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo has registered the smallest population with 22,220 people.
Cavite is classified as predominantly urban having 90.69 percent of the population concentrated in the urban areas, while 9.21 percent of the population reside in the rural areas.

Religion

Christianity

In line with national statistics, Christianity is the predominant faith in the province, composed of Catholics, Protestants, and other Independent Christian groups. The majority of the population are Roman Catholic.
Adherents of the Philippine Independent Church, also known as the Aglipayan Church, account for of the total Cavite population. Aglipayan communities are particularly found in the towns where historically the Philippine Revolution and anti-clericalist sentiments which resulted from it took full swing.
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, account of of total of the Cavite's population. Many Orthodox community lives throughout the province especially in the city of Tagaytay.
The strong presence of other Christian denominations and sects such as the mainline Protestant Evangelical Churches, Christian Fellowships and other Christian sects is also evident throughout the province. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a presence in the Cavite, with 3 stakes and 1 district. The members of the Iglesia ni Cristo and Members Church of God International account for of the population. The Seventh-day Adventist Church have a of Cavite's population and come by third in terms of membership. Through its religious institutions, the church manifests itself in every municipalities and cities of the province. The Adventist Church has its own mission in the province, the Cavite Satellite Field Office divided administratively in 21 districts which also serves as the 10th Area of its mother organisation, Central Luzon Conference.

Islam

With the influx of Muslim migrants from Mindanao, non-Filipino migrants who profess the faith, and local Caviteño balik Islam or reverts, Sunni Islam of either the Shafii or Hanbali schools-of-thought has become evident in various areas of the province, and accounts for a considerable amount of the non-Christian population. Mosques and prayer halls exist in communities where local Muslims live and work; especially in the municipalities of Bacoor, Imus, Rosario, and Dasmarinas. Interreligious dialogue and communal relations between the majority Christians and minority Muslims in Cavite are peaceful and non-eventful.

Other faiths

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.

Irreligious and Atheism

A small minority of residents who class themselves as irreligious, agnostic or Atheist also reside peacefully alongside people of faith; demonstrating the diverse and tolerant attitude towards personal or group belief in Caviteño society.

Languages

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

Chavacano in Cavite

or Chabacano is a Spanish-based creole language and known in linguistics as Philippine Creole Spanish. Chabacano is originally spoken by majority of the Caviteños that lived in Cavite City and Ternate after the arrival of the Spaniards three centuries ago. The various dialects of Chabacano were formed out of necessity like all languages, though scholars and laypersons disagree about exactly when and where it all began. The various language groups working at the Cavite naval base needed a way to communicate with each other, and to the soldiers who were barking the orders in less-than-genteel Spanish. It was from this situation that Cavite Chabacano began as a simplified form of Spanish – a pidgin language that later developed into a mixed, or creole language. The fact that the first Chabacanos learned their Spanish from the coarse language of soldiers is probably why they were called Chabacanos in the first place.
However, some historians disagree with parts of this story and say that Chabacano did not emerge until almost a century later when Catholic Malays settled in Cavite after the Spaniards had abandoned the Spice Islands to the Dutch in 1662. These Malays, known as the Mardicas, settled in Ternate, the town named after their original homeland. They joined with many other language groups to defend Manila from yet another Chinese warlord, Koxinga.
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 curiculum from the first to 3rd grades, building up a new generation of speakers and writers within the province.

Culture

Aside from the celebrations of town fiestas, the province of Cavite celebrates festivals as forms of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. Some of these festivals are also observed in honor of the historical legacies passed from one generation to another generation. In fact, the province fetes the renowned Kalayaan Festival which is given a great social importance in commemoration of the heroism of its people. The annual Fiesta de la Reina del Provincia de Cavite is a grandiose fiesta celebration in honor of the patroness of the province, the Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga. The image is enshrined at San Roque Church in Cavite City. Her feastday is celebrated every 2nd and 3rd Sunday of November.
Traditions and fiesta celebrations include Mardicas, a war dance held in Ternate town. Karakol street dancing with a fluvial procession is usually held in coastal towns. There is also a pre-colonial ritual called the Sanghiyang as a form of thanksgiving and to heal the sick. Another cultural tradition is the Live via Crucis or Kalbaryo ni Hesus held during Holy Week. The Maytinis or word prayer that is annually held in Kawit every December 24 before the beginning of the midnight Mass.

Festivals

EventLocationDescription
Fiesta de la Reina de CaracolRosarioHeld every 3rd weekend of May and 1st weekend of October. It celebrates the feast of the town patroness Nuestra Señora Virgen del Santissimo Rosario, Reina de Caracol starting with the traditional Caracol or "Karakol", which traditionally has two parts, the "Caracol del Mar" or fluvial procession and the "Caracol dela Tierra" or "karakol sa lupa". Caracol started in the town of Rosario and after how many years it spread to the whole province.
Fiesta de la Reina de Cavite CityCavite CityCelebrated every 2nd and 3rd Sunday of November in honor of Cavite city's patroness, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga. It is also known as Cavite City fiesta.
Valenciana FestivalGeneral TriasA month-long celebration held in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Church is decorated with flowers. Every month of May. This festival also showcases the Filipino paella-like dish called Valenciana which is a local delicacy in General Trias.
Irok FestivalIndangDone during the celebration of Indang Day. Float parade, street dancing, sports activities, lantern contest made out of irok leaves and a grand parade are held in the town plaza. Celebrated every November 30 to December 2.
Kabutenyo FestivalGeneral Mariano AlvarezCelebration and thanksgiving for bountiful mushrooms. Activities includes street dancing, trade fair and culinary contest with mushroom as main ingredients. Every March 13.
Kakanindayog FestivalImusThe festival is celebrated to promote the native kakanin & other delicacies which the city is well known for such as Puto Lansong. Celebrates every month of October in honor of the city's patroness Nuestra Señora del Pilar and the founding anniversary of the city through street dancing and the traditional "Karakol" procession.
Kalayaan FestivalProvincewideIt is a 2-week-long province wide event held annually from May 28 to June 12. As its name suggests, the series of events for the festival are held to celebrate the independence day season.
Kawayan FestivalMaragondonHeld every 7th day of September wherein a group of street dancers parade in indigenous materials. An exhibit of bamboo products likewise done in the town plaza.
Marching Band FestivalBacoorTo promote the musical heritage of the city & boost tourism through its number of marching bands around the country. Celebrated every 2nd weekend of May in honor of St. Michael the Archangel & Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary.
MardicasTernateFluvial parades carrying the image of Santo Niño are held and continue in the streets of the municipality and ends in the churchyard. Karakol and street dancing in colorful costumes with brass band music. Every 3rd weekend of January.
MaytinisKawitRe-enactment of Christ's birth on midnight of December 24 through a procession of colorful floats & costumes.
Pahimis FestivalAmadeoAlso Called the "Coffee Festival" as way of thanksgiving for abundant harvest of coffee in the municipality. Trade fair, street dancing, beauty pageant, coffee convention are the usual activities done during the occasion. Free flowing drinking of coffee is offered to everybody. Celebrates every 2nd week of February
Paskuhan sa ImusImusA month-long festival of Christmas holiday. The city is decorated with thousands of lights, a dazzling array of lanterns of all shapes and a food fair featuring the best of Cavite products.
Pista ng mga Puso FestivalTagaytayFestival held annually on Valentine's Day in honor of the city's patroness Our Lady of Lourdes. There are Karakol dancers parading and marching all over the city.
Regada FestivalCavite CityAlso called the "Water Festival", the festival consists of games, street dancing, photo exhibit, trade fair, concert and water splashing. The festival is done three days from June 22–24 done in celebration of St. John the Baptist.
Sapyaw FestivalTanzaStreet dancing are done all over the streets of the municipality with their attractive and very colorful costumes. Various barangays join the dancing in honor of St. Augustine. Every 20th day of August.
Silang Prutas FestivalSilangCelebration and thanksgiving for bountiful fruits harvested in the said municipality. Activities includes street dancing, trade fair and culinary contest with fruits as the main source of income. Celebrates every February 2 in honor of the town's patroness Our Lady of Candelaria.
Sorteo ng BukidCarmonaLocal festival held every three years of February to relive the old practice of distributing agricultural lots to deserving farmers through raffle draws.
Sumilang FestivalSilangRecognized as an agriculture event. The occasion is participated in by dancers who come from the agricultural sector. Every February 1 to 3 in celebration of the feast of Our Lady of Candelaria.
Tahong FestivalBacoorDifferent cuisines with tahong as main ingredient are on exhibit at the town plaza. Culinary contest are held annually. Various activities are done such as beauty contest. Tahong symposium and seminars are held for culture of Tahong. Every September 29.
Tinapa FestivalRosarioThe festival is celebrated to promote and perpetuate the image of Rosario as the place where smoked fish called "Tinapang Salinas" originates. Celebrates every month of October in honor of the town's patroness Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario Reina de Caracol.
Wagayway FestivalImusEvery 28th day of May, household display of Philippine flag is encouraged during the festival, and simultaneous waving of flags in the streets of Cavite. Different activities such as exhibits, trade fair, product displays are held. It also commemorates the Battle of Alapan and as a kick-off celebration of the provincewide Kalayaan Festival.
Paru-paro FestivalDasmariñasEvery 26th day of November, it commemorates the city of Dasmariñas.

Special events

;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.

Economy

Agriculture

The province is predominantly an agriculture province. The province's economy is largely dependent to 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 of the total land area of the Province. This is bigger than that of the declared agricultural lands in 2008.
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 District VII comprising 43,587.01 hectares or 61.85 percent of the total agricultural areas with 27,115 farmers followed by District VI with 17.40 percent or having 8,701 farmers and District V comprising with 10,295 farmers. The municipality of Silang has the most number of farmers. The municipality of Maragondon only ranks 3rd in terms of number of farmers. This can be attributed to highly mechanized operation and vast plantation 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 cutflower production.

Industry and commerce

Cavite has twelve economic zones. The largest economic zone under development is located in Gen. Trias, the PEC Industrial Park with 177 hectares intended for garments, textiles, semiconductors, food processing and pharmaceuticals.

Major townships

serves as the main tourist center in the province. Historical attraction and sites are Fort San Felipe and Sangley Point, both in Cavite City; Corregidor Island; General Trias; Calero Bridge, Noveleta; Battle of Alapan Marker and Flag in Imus; Zapote Bridge in Bacoor; Battle of Binakayan Monument in Kawit; Tejeros Convention Site in Rosario; and Aguinaldo Shrine, the site of the declaration of Philippine Independence in Kawit. Several old churches stand as glorious reminders of how the Catholic faith has blossomed in the Province of Cavite. Existing museums include Geronimo de los Reyes Museum, General Trias; Museo De La Salle, Dasmariñas; Philippine Navy Museum, Cavite City; Baldomero Aguinaldo Museum, Kawit; and Cavite City Library Museum, Cavite City. There are eight world-class golf courses in the province. Natural wonders are mostly found in the upland areas such as Tagaytay Ridge, Macabag Cave in Maragondon, Balite Falls in Amadeo, Malibiclibic Falls in General Aguinaldo-Magallanes border, Mts. Palay-Palay and Mataas na Gulod National Park in Ternate and Maragondon, Sitio Buhay Unclassified Forest in Magallanes and flowers, vegetables and coffee farms.
The Aguinaldo Shrine and Museum in Kawit is where the independence of the Philippines was proclaimed on June 12, 1898 by General Aguinaldo, the Philippines' first president. The multi-level structure includes a mezzanine and tower, and spans 14,000 square feet. Today, the ground floor serves as a museum, which houses historical artifacts. The tomb of Aguinaldo lies in a garden behind the house.
The Andrés Bonifacio House in General Trias is the former home of the country's revolutionary leader The site of his court martial in Maragondon is also preserved.
Other historical sites include the Battle of Alapan and Battle of Julian Bridge Markers, the House of Tirona, and Fort San Felipe.
The main churches of the province are the Imus Cathedral, San Roque Parish in Cavite City where the miraculous image of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad de Porta Vaga enshrined., Bacoor, Silang, Naic, Tanza, Ternate, Indang, General Trias, Kawit and Maragondon Catholic Churches. The Shrines of Our Lady of La Salette in Silang, and St. Anne, Tagaytay, also attract pilgrims.
Corregidor is an island fortress where Filipino and American forces fought against the Japanese invaders in 1942. It has become a tourist attraction with tunnels, cannons and other war structures still well-preserved. The famous line of General Douglas McArthur said is associated with Corregidor: "I shall return!"
There are first class hotels, inns and lodging houses to accommodate both foreign and local tourists. Conference facilities can be found in several convention centers, hotels and resorts in the province. Restaurants and specialty dining places offer mushroom dishes, native delicacies and exotic cuisines. Seafoods, fruits, coffee, organic vegetables, tinapa, handicrafts, ornamental plants also abound in the province.
Mountain climbing is also one of the outdoor activities in Cavite. This includes Mount Pico De Loro which is within the towns of Ternate and Maragondon, which is a part of the Palay-Palay and Mataas na Gulod protected landscape. Mt. Pico De Loro is the highest part of Cavite at 664 meters above sea level and is noted for its 360-degree view at its summit and a cliff known as Parrot's Beak or Monolith that mountaineers would also like to climb. Mt. Marami, within the same mountain range, located at Magallanes town is also a mountaineering location due to its "silyang bato" at its summit.
There are twenty-two accredited tourism establishments and three accredited tour guides. There are also tour packages being arranged with the Department of Tourism. Centuries old traditions and the very rich culture of Cavite have been the source of great pride to Caviteños.

Transportation

In the mid-19th century, Cavite, particularly the Cavite Peninsula in the north, was a stop for ships from South America before free trade opened up.

Roads

Cavite's total road network comprises roughly. Of these, the 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. 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 per 1,000 population has a deficit of.
In 2011, the Cavite Expressway 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 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.
Last July 24, 2015, the Muntinlupa–Cavite Expressway, a 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.

Proposed/ongoing transportation projects

Sangley International Airport

had "no objection" to an offer building a P508-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.

Cavite–Laguna and Cavite–Tagaytay–Batangas Expressways

The Cavite–Laguna Expressway is an under-construction expressway that will cross the provinces of Cavite and Laguna in the Philippines. The construction of the four-lane long expressway will connect CAVITEx in Kawit, Cavite to SLEx – Interchange. 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.
Cavite–Tagaytay–Batangas Expressway is also a proposed expressway connects with CALAEx from Silang, Cavite to Nasugbu, Batangas. CTBEx is a future alternative route for tourists going to Tagaytay and Nasugbu.

LRT Line 1 South Extension Project

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. It is one of the priority projects of the Department of Transportation and Communications 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 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 its completed, Cavite will be served by the LRT-1. The whole extension line from Baclaran to Niog, Bacoor, Cavite will be finished by 2022. 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.

LRT Line 6 Project

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.

Ferry services

There is one ferry service: Metrostar Ferry, from Cavite City to SM Mall of Asia in Pasay.

Local government

Governor

Ex-officio members

House of Representatives

Notable people