Kawit

Kawit, officially the Municipality of Kawit, is an urban municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people.
It is one of the notable places that had a major role in the country's history during the 1800s and 1900s.
Formerly known as Cavite el Viejo, it is known as the birthplace of Emilio Aguinaldo, the 1st President of the Philippines, who from 1895 to 1897, served as the municipality's chief executive. The Aguinaldo home, where independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898, is now formally called the Aguinaldo Shrine.

Etymology

The name Kawit is derived from the Tagalog word kawit or kalawit or a larger fishing contraption, which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hook-shaped shoreline along Manila Bay extending to the tip of Cavite City. It also refers to the area's traditional pescetarian lifestyle and cuisine.
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. It was established as a town in 1587 or, as recognized by laws, on August 1, 1600.
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 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., 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, Noveleta, 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.
In 1907, the town was renamed to Kawit, its present name, by virtue of Act No. 1718 by the Philippine Commission.

Geography

Kawit is from Imus and from Manila.

Barangays

Kawit is politically subdivided into 23 barangays, as indicated below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

Balsahan-Bisita
Batong Dalig
Binakayan-Aplaya
Binakayan-Kanluran
Congbalay-Legaspi
Gahak
Kaingen
Magdalo
Manggahan-Lawin
Marulas
Panamitan
Poblacion
Pulvorista/Polvorista
Samala-Marquez
San Sebastian
Santa Isabel
Tabon I
Tabon II
Tabon III
Toclong
Tramo-Bantayan
Wakas I
Wakas II
Climate

Demographics

In the 2024 census, the population of Kawit was 123,631 people, with a density of.

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, 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.
The mayor is assisted by the vice mayor, who presides over a legislative council. The current mayor of the historical town is Armie Aguinaldo, mother of former mayor and current vice mayor Angelo Emilio G. Aguinaldo, a descendant of the first officially recognized President of the Philippines, General Emilio Aguinaldo.

Education

The Kawit Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.

Primary and elementary schools

Academia Archangeli Learning School
Aguinaldo Elementary School
Batong Dalig Elementary School
Bertrand Russell Academy
Binakayan Elementary School
Brickwood School
Child Development and Guidance Center
Florante Ilano Memorial Elementary School
Gahak-Marulas Elementary School
I Best Academy
Kaingen-Poblacion Elementary School
Little Huge Steps Preschool
Living Stream Christian School
Mary Calkins School
Mary Montessori School
Mil Den Academy
Our Lady of Fatima Academy
Panamitan Elementary School
Perpetuo Succor Developmental Reading and Learning Center
Potol-Sta. Isabel Elementary School
St. Mary Magdalene School
Students' Haven Tutorial and Learning Center
Toclong Elementary School
Tramo Elementary School
Wakas Elementary School
Secondary schools
Binakayan National High School
Emiliano T. Tirona Memorial National High School
Integrated School of Science
Sister city
Sakegawa, Yamagata, Japan
Images