Cavite City
Cavite City is a city in Cavite in the Philippines.
Understand
This article covers only the city proper; Corregidor Island, administratively part of Cavite City is practically covered in a separate page.
Cavite City lies at the hook-shaped peninsula that lends Cavite province its name. Until the Spaniards constructed a causeway as a permanent link to the rest of Cavite, most of the peninsula is a sandbar, which becomes flooded during high tide and also pose a risk for ships, and Cavite City, then a town, virtually turns into an island.
The population is around 103,000, as of 2015.
History
Cavite City has its share of historical charms, and was the capital of Cavite until it is transfer to Trece Martires. It is established as a town since its discovery by Miguel López de Legazpi, and at the midst of Spanish colonial rule, Cavite, then called Cavite La Punta, served as an important point for the Manila-Acapulco galleons, and serves as the de facto Port of Manila because of the sandbank that prevents ships from entering the mouth of the Pasig River. As the town grew, Cavite since ceded four independent towns, like San Roque, La Caridad, San Antonio, Santa Cruz, and Dalahican, which remain as barangays. The Spaniards built a causeway over the sandbank to connect the town with mainland Cavite, but erosion reduced this to an isthmus; the causeway remains today as part of Manila-Cavite Road.
During American occupation, Corregidor Island and other smaller islands are added to the city, and the Port of Cavite is converted into a US Navy station, Naval Station Sangley Point. Cavite gained city status in 1940, one year before World War II broke out in the Pacific. Cavite City is devastated by the 1945 Allied bombings; Sangley Point, the walls of Porta Vaga, and the old town is badly destroyed by bombs. Most damaged structures are required to be demolished, and only a few remains of the old Port of Cavite.
Orientation
Cavite City is small, and its street layout has hardly changed since the Spanish colonial era. It is divided into 17 barangays; the most important being San Roque, which houses the city hall, plaza and Fort San Felipe.
Talk
Cavite City is one of the few places where the Spanish creole language Chavacano is still spoken by most of the population. The variety of Chavacano spoken here is different from what you may encounter at Zamboanga City, with a different way of indicating verb tense and a distinct set of pronouns. Some local businesses have been promoting Chavacano through signs.
Tagalog is either spoken as a first or second language, and is the lingua franca. English is spoken and understood by many locals, and most signs are in English.
Get in
Cavite City lies at the western end of Manila-Cavite Road (Route 62); it is 30 minutes from Manila by car.
By plane
- 1 Sangley Point Airport (SGL IATA). Opened November 2019 to some cargo flights, and February 2020 to passenger service, this airport sits at the site of the Danilo Atienza Air Base and uses its runway, lengthened to accommodate narrow-body jets.
As of February 2020, the only passenger services on Sangley Point Airport are charter flights to Balesin Island on Alphaland Aviation. There are no scheduled passenger flights yet, but low-cost carriers serving Ninoy Aquino International Airport are planning to move some flight to Cavite City as part of NAIA's long-term decongestion plan.
Ground transportation: Saulog operates an express bus from NAIA with a stop at the Parañaque Intermodal Terminal Exchange (PITX).
By bus
Saint Anthony of Padua Transport and Saulog provides service from Manila (Park N' Ride) or Parañaque (PITX) to their terminals in Cavite City. You can also hop onto the colorful but cramped minibuses ("baby buses") from Baclaran in Parañaque or Bacoor.
- 2 Saint Anthony of Padua Transport. Most trips depart from PITX, but some still continue to Park N' Ride (or "Lawton" in signs) and Santa Cruz in Manila.
- 3 Saulog, Dra. Salamanca Street. Services leave every 30 minutes from Parañaque Integrated Transport Exchange. Tricycles are available from outside the terminal.
By ferry
- MRS Super Shuttle, ☏ +63 917 827-4669. Provides ferry boat service between Cavite City and SM Mall of Asia. Boats depart Cavite City M-F at 6:30AM, 9AM, 1:30PM and 5PM, and from Mall of Asia every 7:45AM, 11AM, 3PM, and 6:30PM. Services from Cavite City leave Sa Su and holidays at 8AM, 10:15AM, 1:30PM and 5PM, and from Mall of Asia departs at 9AM, 11:15AM, 3PM and 6:30PM. ₱80 (₱68 for students, ₱64 for seniors).
Get around
See
- Thirteen Martyrs Monument, At the intersection of M. Valentin Street, Lopez Jaena Road, Zulueta Road and P. Burgos Avenue. The thirteen Martyrs of Cavite were Filipino patriots executed by musketry on September 12, 1896, for cooperating with the Katipunan during the Philippine Revolution against Spain. The capital city of Trece Martires in Cavite is named after them. In 1906, a monument to the Thirteen Martyrs was erected at the San Roque district of Cavite City, at the head of then San Roque causeway. Their families reinterred the remains of their loved ones at the foot of the monument.
- 1 Fort San Felipe (Inside Naval Station Pascual Ledesma). Built in 1609, it served as the fortress for the then town of Cavite, but only half of it remains. As an active naval base, permission is required to visit this fort.
- 2 Sangley Point. A former United States Navy station that was turned over to the Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force. It houses the Danilo Atienza Air Base and Naval Base Cavite; visitors must register first before entering. It is also the site of the future Sangley Point Airport (see #Get in)
- 3 Heroes Arch. A monumental arch that served as the entrance to the Spanish-era Port of Cavite.
Do
Buy
- Cavite City Public Market. 4AM-8PM. Wet section bustling with seafood vendors every morning. Quite noisy and smelly.
Eat
- Nieva's PizzaTeaRia, Dra. Salamanca Street, Ipil. 9AM-10PM. Pizza and milk tea served in a carinderia atmosphere. Pizza: from ₱199.
- New Chefoo Restaurant, 945 P. Burgos Street, San Roque. Founded 1945. Fine Filipino dining, but relaxed atmosphere. Rice: ₱110-150. Mains: ₱40-250. Drinks: ₱30-280.
- Asao, 897 P. Burgos Avenue, San Roque, ☏ +63 46 431-7796. M: closed, Tu-Su 9AM-8:30PM. Steaks, grilled dishes, and sizzling plates, partnered with fried rice. They have some signs in both English and Cavite City Chavacano on the door. The name is from the Chavacano rendition of Spanish asado (roasted).
Drink
- Kuya's, 193-A P. Burgos Avenue, San Roque (At top of South Star Drug). 9AM-2AM. Silog meals served all day. Smoking allowed on some tables.
Sleep
- V.V. Icasiano Lodge (Aloha Lodge), Manila-Cavite Road corner Barrera Street, Dalahican (Near the Heroes Arch). Hawaiian-themed motel.
Go next
| Routes through Cavite City |
| END ← | N  S |
→ Noveleta (junction ← ) → Bacoor (to the east) |