Cavite province extends south of Manila along Manila Bay and includes Corregidor Island, and bounds the provinces of Rizal, Laguna, and Batangas. The proximity of Manila provides a job and agricultural market, particularly for coastal residents. In 1954, Trece Martires City was created as a planned capital city from portions of Tanza, Indang, Naic, and General Trias. Despite the transfer of capital status to Imus in 1979, Trece Martires retains many offices of the provincial government, acting thus as the de facto capital and seat of the government of the province, although Imus is the official (de jure) capital.

Cavite takes its name from the Hispanicized form of kawit, or it may be an altered form of kalawit, Tagalog words for “hook”, in reference to the hook-shaped peninsula jutting out to Manila Bay. The name initially applied to the peninsula, Cavite…