HISTORY OF KAWIT
Aptly described as the "
Because of the independence proclaimed by
General Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit
eighty-six years ago, the
The name Kawit
is derived from the Tagalog word kawit
(hook) which is suggestive of its location at the base of a hookshaped
shoreline along
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 (hook). The Spaniards left muttering the word kawit. In the course of the time the word kawit evolved into "cawite,"
and finally "
For a long time the place was called by
the Spaniards "Cavite el Viejo" or Old Cavite to distinguish it from "Cavite
la Punta" or "Cavite el Puerto," the
commercial port and naval base (now Cavite City)
whence came many Spanish marines on shore leave who made frequent visits to Cavite el Viejo, eventually turning it into a red light
district. The bad reputation of the place, however, was completely wiped out
when it was placed under the spiritual supervision of the Jesuits during the
administration of Manila Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano (1618-1629).
Cavite el Viejo
was then a big town, comprising the municipality of Kawit
today,
Shortly after the discovery of the Katipunan in
Right after the capture of the Kawit tribunal, Aguinaldo
issued a manifest inviting his fellow capitane
municipal in
Aguinaldo had
defeated the best of the Spanish generals (Ernesto de Aguirre in the Battle of Imus, September 3, 1896; Ramon Blanco in the Battle of Binakayan, November 9-11; and Antonio Zaballa
in the Battle of Anabu, February 1897) in fair
combat, giving him the reputation of
Realizing that the name Cavite el Viejo was a Spanish corruption of the fine Tagalog word kawit, the
Philippine Commission on
The
history of Kawit is inextricably linked with the life
of Aguinaldo. To paraphrase Thomas Caryle (1795-1881), the great Scottish historian and
philosopher, the history of Kawit is the
story-biography-of Aguinaldo, its most illustrious
son.
***
Aside from Emilio Aguinaldo,
Kawit has produced six other revolutionary, generals
namely, 1) Candido Tria Tirona (1862-1896), 2) Crispulo Aguinaldo (1864-1897), 3) Baldomero
Aguinaldo (1869-1915), 4) Tomas Mascardo
(1871-1932), 5) Daniel Tria Tirona
(1865-1939), and 6) Gregoria Montoya (1863-1896),
posthumously promoted to general. The story of their lives makes up the most
glorious chapter not only of the history of Kawit but
also of the
Such a glorious past cannot but serve as
a worthy prologue to an equally distinguished contemporary history of Kawit. The past always serves as a challenge to the present
characters or dramatis personae on the stage, among them the following Kawiteños: 1) Cesar E. A. Virata,
prime minister of the Fourth Republic; 2) Supreme Court Associate Justice Ameurfina Aguinaldo Melencio Herrera, who spent a great part of her young life
in Kawit although she was born in her father’s home
province, Nueva Ecija; 3)
Dr. Josefa Ilano, former
chairman of the board of trustees, Siliman
University; 4) Brig. Gen. Jaime Muyargas of the
Philippine Air Force, and his brother, Brig. Gen. Rodolfo Muyargas
of the Philippine Army; 5) former Ambassador Benjamin Tria
Tirona (now deceased), member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Cavite; 6) Maximiano
S. Janiro, retired colonel, U.S. Army, member of the
Philippine bar, and a graduate of the the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point (class of 1926). Incidentally, Col. Janairo, who now resides in
Kawit’s 12 Barrios
(1)
Binakayan
(2)
Marulas
(3)
Gahak
(4)
Kaingen
(5)
Poblacion
(6)
Wakas
(7)
Tabon
(8)
Toclong
(9)
Panamitan
(10)
Magdalo
(11)
Sta.
Isabel
(12)
Several
of these barrios/barangay
have names suggestive of their origin. Binakayan, for
instance, was drived from the Tagalog
word bakay (to watch); Marulas
from madulas (slippery); Gahak
from gahak (torn to destroyed); Tabon from tabon (to
cover or covered); Kaingen from kaingin
(forest clering); and Panamitan
from paminwitan (fishing grounds). Each barrio
has a legend of its own explaining how it came into existence.
***
Despite the fact that Kawit
is the oldest municipality in
Town
Heads of Kawit
The
incomplete list of gobernadorcillos and tenientes primero
of Cavite el Viejo follows:
GOBERNADORCILLOS: (1) Leoncio
de Sta. Rita, June 26, 1827; (2) Leoncio Ramos, June
1829; (3) Ladislaw Lucero de Medina, c1833; (4) Leoncio
Mateo, December 4, 1834; (5) Bonifacio Juan Ronquillo, December 1837; (6) Pedro Juan Capistrano,
1842-1844; (7) Anacleto de la Cruz, 1844-1846; (8)
Jose lopez Luibao, gobernadorcillo, and Teodorico
Samaniego, teniente
primero; (10) Estanislao
Tria Tirona, gobernadorcillo,and Remigio
Matro Mateo, teniente
primero;
(11) Ignacio Samaniego,
December 1858; (12) Estanislao Tria
Tirona, 1872; (13) Carlos Aguinaldo,
gobernadorcillo, and Manuel Basa, teniente primero, 1875-1877; (14) Mariano Ayson,
gobernadorcillo, and Rufino Rieta, teniente
primero,1877-1879; (15) Agripino Rieta gobernadorcillo, and
Agaton Diaz, teniente
primero, 1789-1881; (16) Licerio
Lagda gobernadorcillo,
and Mariano Ayson, teniente
primero, 1881-1883; (17) Justo
Dano gobernadorcillo,
and Valentin Mascardo, teniente primero, 1885-1887;
(18) Crispulo Aguinaldo gobernadorcillo, and Tiburcio
Diaz, teniente primero,
1888-1890, and 1890-1892; (20) Eusebio de Castro,
1892-1894; and (21) Crispulo Aguinaldo,
1894;
CAPITANES MUNICIPAL: (1) Emilio Aguinaldo, 1895-1896; and (2) Candido
Tria Tirona,1896 (under the
Revolutionary Government).
The designation gobernadorcillo
was changed to capitan municipal under
the Maura Law of May, 1893 which was implemented in the
In the souvenir magazine "The 3rd
Glorious Centerary of Kawit,
A Spanish document in the National
Archives also contains the following list of "Cabezas
de Barangay of Cavite el
Viejo, 1778-1779":
A.
First Class (Native): (1) Juan Manuel; (2) Miguel de Sta. Rita; (3) Julian de los Reyes; (4) Tomas Perez; (5) Francisco Ronquillo; (6) Manuel de Jesus; (7) Alejandro Rodriguez;
(8) Domingo Alonzo; (9) Joseph Lorenzo; (10) Juan Pablo Malysay;
(11) Pedro Arquiza.
B.
Second Class (Mestizo): (1) Antonio Quiamzon; (2) Lorenzo Patricio; (3) Fransisco
Medina; and (4) Luis Bautista.
***
MUNICIPAL PRESIDENTS (American Regime):
(1) Justo Kalagayan; (2) Canuto Encarnacion; (3) Manuel Victa; (4) Aurelio Santonil; (5) Gabino Toledo; (6) Mateo Red; (7) Potenciano
Resurreccion (father of incumbent Mayor Ramon B. Resurreccion); (8) Fransisco
Ramos; (9) Marcelino Vales; (10) Segundo Caimol; and (11) Agapito Quiamzon.
MUNICIPAL MAYORS (under the Commonwealth
and Third and