Kawit is a municipality in Cavite.
Understand
[edit]It is home to about 124,000 people (census, 1 July 2024) 
Kawit had a major role in the country's history during the 1800s and 1900s. Formerly known as Cavite el Viejo, it was 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 called the Aguinaldo Shrine.
Orientation
[edit]For purposes of navigation, Kawit is roughly divided into four districts. The old town proper is concentrated around Barangay Kaingin and consists of the coastal strip that is straddled by the Tirona and Magdiwang Highways leading to Noveleta. This is the where Aguinaldo Shrine and Kawit Church are located. Zeus Junction divides Kaingin from Binakayan, a major residential and commercial district to the east leading to Bacoor that also straddles Tirona Highway.
In the 2020s, a new commercial hub has developed to the south along the Antero Soriano Highway in Barangay Gahak, where the municipal hall has relocated from Kaingin. This area is also where the big supermarkets and shopping malls are located. North of Binakayan is Island Cove, a sprawling private resort and green space that was controversially sold to Chinese investors in 2018 and turned into a drab concrete high-rise complex and gambling hub that closed in 2024 amid national security and criminality concerns.
Get in
[edit]Kawit is the terminus of the Manila-Cavite Expressway aka Coastal Road or CAVITEX. The ramp leads immediately to the chronically snarled Zeus Junction, which connects Binakayan Diversion Road, Tirona Highway and Antero Soriano Highway in Binakayan. Turn left if heading to Binakayan, right if heading to Aguinaldo Shrine, Kawit Church and Kaingin, straight if heading to Gahak, and a U-turn if heading to Island Cove. Construction is ongoing in the junction as part of plans to connect CAVITEX with the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX).
Buses heading to Noveleta and Cavite City from PITX in Paranaque, Metro Manila turn right at Tirona Highway towards Kaingin and pass beside and in front of Aguinaldo Shrine after looping around the compound and at the back of Kawit Church. Buses heading to Naic and Ternate pass through Antero Soriano Highway and Gahak.
Kawit lies along the baby bus route running between Bacoor and Cavite City/Naic. The baby buses share the same route with the regular buses depending on their terminus, although a dedicated line connects Bacoor and Binakayan. There is also a similar jeepney service running from Zapote to Binakayan.
Get around
[edit]
Baby buses connect Kaingin with Binakayan and Island Cove. Gahak is connected to Binakayan by baby bus and to Kaingin by tricycle. Transfers between routes usually occur at Zeus Junction.
See
[edit]
- 1 Aguinaldo Shrine, 15, 52 Tirona Hwy, Barangay Kaingen (parking at the square in front of the house, past the bridge.), [email protected]. 8AM–4PM; closed Mondays and holidays. The sprawling house is the ancestral home of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first President of the Philippines. It is now a museum. It is where independence from Spain was declared on June 12, 1898. The basement has an exhibition dedicated to Aguinaldo’s life and role in the Philippine Revolution, while the upper floors, which contain Aguinaldo’s living quarters, focus on how the Aguinaldo family lived. The grounds of the house is lush with greenery bordered by a river on the east and backed by a fish pond to the south. Aguinaldo's grave lies at the backyard. Free, donation optional.
- Battle of Binakayan Monument
- 2 St. Mary Magdalene Church. One of the oldest churches in the Philippines, construction was started in 1737. It holds Emilio Aguinaldo's baptism certificate. The image of its patron saint, Saint Mary Magdalene, has a peculiar mole on its forehead.
- 3 Baldomero Aguinaldo Shrine, Bisita St., Brgy. Balsahan-Bisita, Binakayan, [email protected]. 8AM–4PM; closed Mondays and holidays. A heritage house museum dedicated to President Aguinaldo's cousin, who held several positions in his cabinet and was also a distinguished military commander during the revolution. Baldomero and several of his relatives are buried at the backyard. Free, donation optional.
Do
[edit]- 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 (Nativity Scene), 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.
Buy
[edit]Eat
[edit]Drink
[edit]- 1 Cafe 506, EPZA Diversion Road Brgy. Magdalo - Potol, ☏ +63 999 875 0528, [email protected]. 10AM-8PM.
- 2 Subi-Monte Cafe, Centennial Road, Gahak, ☏ +63 46 402 3759, [email protected]. 10:30AM-10:15PM.
- 3 Seattle's Best Coffee, Centennial Road. always open.
- 4 brw., ASJ Building, Centennial Road, [email protected]. 10AM-9PM.
- 5 Akafé Roastery, Seaoil, Covelandia, Binakayan, ☏ +63 915 309 1726, [email protected]. 9AM-midnight.
- 6 Hiwaga Cafe, Advincula Ave., cor Azalea Street, Masaito, [email protected]. 3PM-midnight.
- 7 CUPS - Kawit, Unit 3, KNJ Bldg, Toclong-San Sebastian Rd, ☏ +63 9279256862. noon-10PM.
- 8 Kavhe, 1236 Pulborista St. Binakayan, [email protected]. 10AM-10PM.
- 9 Selah Cafe, 107 Pag-asa Road. 9AM-9PM.
- 10 Sunny Café, 58 Gahak Rd. 11AM-9PM.
Sleep
[edit]Safety
[edit]A low-lying town, Kawit is vulnerable to flooding in the rainy season, compounded by high tide in Manila Bay.
The risks of being involved in a vehicular accident along Tirona and Magdiwang Highways is relatively low due to its narrow two-lane roads and chronic congestion. The same cannot be said of the six lane Antero Soriano Highway.