Cavite City is a city in Cavite in the Philippines.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Cavite City lies at the western end of Manila-Cavite Road (Route 62); it is 30 minutes from Manila by car.
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).
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.
2nd-order administrative division
Primary administrative division