Bacoor Lungsod ng Bacoor
—  Component City  —
City of Bacoor
Aerial view of Bacoor with SM City Bacoor in the foreground
Seal
Nickname(s): Cavite's Gateway to the Metropolis
Map of Cavite showing the location of Bacoor
Bacoor Location within Philippines
Coordinates: 14°27′N 120°57′E / 14.450°N 120.950°E / 14.450; 120.950Coordinates: 14°27′N 120°57′E / 14.450°N 120.950°E / 14.450; 120.950
Country	Philippines
Region	CALABARZON (Region IV-A)
Province	Cavite
Districts	2nd District of Cavite (Lone District of Bacoor)
Barangays	73
Incorporated (municipality)	September 28, 1671
Incorporated (city)	June 23, 2012
Government
• Mayor	Strike B. Revilla (Lakas-Magdalo)
• Vice Mayor	Rosette M. Fernando (United Nationalist Alliance)
Area
• Total	52.40 km2 (20.23 sq mi)
Elevation	4 m (13 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	520,216
• Density	9,927.786/km2 (25,712.85/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
Postal code	4102
Area code(s)	(+63) 46
Website	www.bacoor.gov.ph

The City of Bacoor (Filipino: Lungsod ng Bacoor) is a first class urban component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. It is a lone congressional district of Cavite. A sub-urban area, the city is located approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Manila, on the southeastern shore of Manila Bay, at the northwest portion of the province with an area of 52.4 square kilometers. According to the 2010 census of population conducted by the National Statistics Office, Bacoor has a population of 520,216 making it the second most populous community in the province after Dasmariñas.

Geography [edit]

Physical [edit]

Bacoor is strategically located at the gateway to Metro Manila. It is bordered to the east by Las Piñas City and Muntinlupa City, to the south by Dasmariñas City, to the west by Kawit and Imus, and to the north by Bacoor Bay an inlet of Manila Bay. Bacoor's is separated from Las Piñas by the Zapote River and from Imus and Kawit by Bacoor River.

The city is linked to Metro Manila by the Manila-Cavite Expressway, which passes through Bacoor. Because of its location, the city has become one of the fastest growing municipalities in Cavite, in terms of population and income, together with Imus and Dasmariñas. Many real estate corporations have purchased agricultural lands in the city and turned them into subdivisions and other suburban residential communities. During weekdays many residents leave the city to go their places of work in the metropolitan areas such as Manila and Makati cities.

Most of the city is composed of flat, formerly agricultural lands, with some areas such as the coastal barangays of Zapote, Talaba, Niog, and Panapaan lying below sea level. Some barangays such as Molino and Queens Row are situated on the hills that form valleys along the upstream portion of Zapote River.

Political subdivisions [edit]

Bacoor City is politically subdivided into 73 barangays with two legislative district namely, Bacoor West and Bacoor East, which are represented in the city council by their respective councilors.

Bacoor West (District 1) [edit]

Bacoor East (District 2) [edit]

Climate [edit]

Under the Köppen climate classification system, Bacoor features a tropical savanna climate that borders on a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Aw/Am). Together with the rest of the Philippines, Bacoor lies entirely within the tropics. Its proximity to the equator means that the temperature range is very small, rarely going lower than 20 °C (68 °F) and going higher than 38 °C (100 °F) . However, humidity levels are usually very high which makes it feel much warmer. It has a distinct dry season from late December through April, and a relatively lengthy wet season that covers the remaining period. Typhoons can occur from June to September and can cause flooding in parts of the city.

History [edit]

The house that served as the headquarters of the Philippine revolutionary government in Bacoor, Cavite in 1898. (Today the house is still used by the heirs of the Cuenca family and it is not yet donated to the government to become public)

Some accounts indicate that the city of Bacoor, also named Bakood or Bakoor (named after "Fence" made of bamboo, Fence in Pilipino is "Bakod"), was founded in 1671. When Spanish troops arrived in "Bacoor", they met some local inhabitants in the process of building a fence around their house. The Spaniards ask the men what the name of the city was, but because of the difficulties in understanding each other, the local inhabitants thought that the Spaniards were asking what they were building. The men answered "Bakood". It was then pronounced in Spanish as "Bacoor" by the soldiers and was soon officially called "Bacoor".^[2]

Bacoor was also the site of the Battle of Zapote Bridge in 1899 which involved Philippine and American troops. It was during this battle that Gen. Edilberto Evangelista was killed.^[3]

In the aftermath of the Philippine Revolution which coincided with the declaration of the first Philippine independence on June 12, 1898, Bacoor was designated as the first capital of the Philippine Revolutionary government by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo until it was transferred to Malolos, Bulacan. "Gargano" was then the revolutionary name assigned to Bacoor by Aguinaldo's revolutionaries.

Japanese Occupation [edit]

During World War II, occupation troops from the Japanese Imperial armed forces entered the towns in Bacoor in 1942 during the Japanese invasion. From 1942 to 1945, numerous Caviteño men and women joined the strong group of the recognized guerrillas under the Cavite Guerrilla Unit (CGU) and the Filipino-American Cavite Guerrilla Forces (FACGF) led by Colonel Mariano Castañeda and Colonel Francisco Guerero of the 2nd Infantry Regiment, FAGCF in the towns of Bacoor and arrival by the local Filipino soldiers under the ongoing 41st and the pre-war 4th and 42nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army during the Japanese Occupation.

From January to August 1945 during the Allied Liberation, Filipino soldiers of the 4th, 41st and 42nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and the 4th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Constabulary including the Caviteño guerrilla fighters of the Cavite Guerrilla Unit (CGU) and the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Filipino-American Cavite Guerrilla Forces (FACGF) liberated and recaptured the towns in Bacoor and defeated the Japanese Imperial forces towards the end of World War II.

Push for Cityhood [edit]

As the population of nearby Metro Manila grew during the 70s and the 80s, thousands of Filipinos working in the region began migrating to Cavite in search of low-cost housing that is within the metropolis' reach. Soon, real estate companies began to build various subdivisions and other residential communities to cater to this demand. By the early 1990s, light manufacturing industries and service-oriented businesses also flourished in the city, providing its citizens with much needed jobs, and the city, of additional tax revenue.

From 1995 to 2012, with Bacoor becoming one of the fastest growing municipalities in the province in terms of population, numerous attempts were made to turn Bacoor into a full-pledged component city of Cavite. During the 10th Congress (1995-1998), Congressman Renato P. Dragon filed House Bills 8959, 8960, and 8931 respectively, requesting the House of Representatives to convert Bacoor, as well as neighboring Imus and Dasmariñas into cities. However, these bills were indefinitely shelved by Congress.

During the 13th Congress from 2004 to 2007, then Mayor Jessie B. Castillo, aggressively pushed for the conversion of Bacoor from a municipality into an independent component city. This meant the would-be city would no longer vote for provincial officials, would no longer depend on the province for budget, and may have a separate congressional district. However, Castillo's move met stiff opposition from people's organizations, homeowners' associations, and the people of Bacoor themselves. Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya, representative of Cavite's first district where Bacoor is part of, also refused to sponsor the bill as he felt that Bacoor is not yet ready to handle the complex problems to be brought about by cityhood.

In the 14th Congress from 2007 to 2010, Rep. Joseph Emilio Abaya also filed separate bills on two occasions pushing for the cityhood of Bacoor—House Bill 6422 and House Bill 4254. Of the two, only House Bill 4254, which proposed the creation of a separate legislative district for Bacoor, was elevated to the Senate. It was sponsored by Senator Benigno S. Aquino III and co-sponsored by Senators Francis Escudero, Panfilo Lacson, Richard Gordon, and Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. On October 22, 2009, HB 4254 was approved by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as Republic Act 9727. Under this new law, Bacoor was reapportioned as the Second District of Cavite, also known as the Lone District of Bacoor. On May 10, 2010, Lani Mercado-Revilla, wife of Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla, Jr. was elected representative of Bacoor in the House of Representatives, cementing the first major step towards Bacoor's push for cityhood.^[4]

Incorporation as City [edit]

Despite being granted its own legislative district in 2009, the local government of Bacoor headed by Mayor Strike Revilla still wanted the municipality to become a full-pledge component city of Cavite. With backing from barangay officials and people's organizations, Revilla revived the cityhood bid and launched a massive information dissemination campaign around the town with various materials sprouted proclaiming "Yes to Bacoor Cityhood! Now na!"

Coincidentally, newly elected Congresswoman Lani Mercado filed HB 0521 that created the City of Bacoor. It was filed on July 1, 2010 and is enacted into law as Republic Act No. 10160. It was ratified by the registered voters of Bacoor through a plebiscite conducted on June 23, 2012,^[5] wherein about 40,080 voters who cast the plebiscite ballot in the town’s 792 polling precincts. The "Yes" votes won overwhelmingly with 36,226 votes while the "No" votes got 3,854.^[6]

With the incorporation of Bacoor as a city, it was divided into two legislative districts, Bacoor West and Bacoor East. In the upcoming May 13, 2013 elections, the citizens of Bacoor will be voting for six councilors from their respective districts to form the 12-person city council, instead of the usual six for the entire city.

Local government [edit]

The following are the elected officials of the City of Bacoor for the term 2010-2013:

Economy [edit]

SM City Bacoor was opened on July 25, 1997, becoming the first SM Mall built in Cavite province and in Luzon outside Metro Manila.

Bacoor has developed into a site of commerce. Trade, banking and service sectors are Bacoor's primary income earners. Commercial activities are sporadic throughout the city ranging from wholesale to retail establishments, restaurants and eateries, hardware and construction supplies and other service-related industries, especially those located in SM City Bacoor where it serves as the city's main income earner. The mostly residential area of Molino is also home to SM Center Molino at the corner of Molino Road and Daang Hari. The entrance area from the Coastal Road to Aguinaldo Highway in Talaba and the area surrounding the Zapote Public Market (now the Bacoor Public Market) are other commercial centers. Bacoor has branches of 11 different commercial banks all over the city.

Land use developments in Bacoor include a proposed industrial village in Barangay Niog which will include light cottage industries with supporting residential and commercial facilities. A vast track of land in Molino area, on the other hand, is envisioned to host residential, institutional and commercial facilities. Dubbed as the New Bacoor, the land use plan in Molino seeks to utilize the area not only as a dormitory for individuals who work in Metro Manila but also for people who have migrated to Bacoor in search of economic advancement. The proposed urban waterfront development, which will cover a portion of the reclaimed area of Manila Bay, will be the front door of the city linking Bacoor to Boulevard 2000. The area will include an integrated mix of residential, business, commercical, tourism and recreational facilities. The proposed expansion of the LRT (Light Rail Transit) to terminate in Bacoor, designed to ease the flow of traffic in major thoroughfares, is another major development.

Bacoor is currently experiencing a rapid shift from an agriculture-based economy to a residential/commercial urban center. Crops, the productive area of which has lessened to only 100 hectares while fishponds which likewise decreased to almost half of the original 760 hectares. Salt production, fishing, oyster and mussel culture, which are now being threatened to near extinction because of pollution and overpopulation, are the other sources of income of the residents. These industries are also threatened by the construction of the Cavite Coastal Road Extension which will directly affect the Bacoor shoreline. The construction is as yet unfinished, thus affecting traffic flow in and out of Bacoor and the whole province of Cavite. Very heavy traffic congestion is experienced by motorists due to unjustified traffic schemes, and poor and slow road maintenance especially during rush hours when most motorists travel in and out of the province to work in the nearby cities of Metro Manila.

Religion [edit]

Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion in Bacoor, mainly due to the influx of immigrants from other places, most notably from Metro Manila.

The original inhabitants of Bacoor are mostly members of the Philippine Independent Church or "Aglipayan Church". The Aglipayan church has a long and colorful history in the city. It is one of the first Catholic congregations in the Philippines to join the new movement and then Catholic Priest Father Fortunato Clemena became the first Aglipayan Priest, as well as the first Aglipayan Bishop of Cavite, through the Aglipayan Schism period. Most of the first members were Katipuneros headed by General Mariano Noriel who is also the first president of the laymen organization. Today the Aglipayanos have a magnificent Cathedral in honor of its patron saint, St. Michael, in the center of city. The Aglipayans which they are most commonly called run the Bacoor Parish School.

A significant population of Muslims (mostly middle-class Maranao traders and stallowners) is located around Zapote and Molino where local Mosques are located. A number of Christian denominations such as Born Again Christians - United Methodist Church and Jesus Is Lord Church are also located there.

Education [edit]

A number of educational institutions are located within the vicinity of Bacoor. Some of these institutions are the following:

Public Schools

Private Schools

See also [edit]

Bacoor local elections, 2013
Strike Revilla
Lani Mercado
Manila-Cavite Expressway

References [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bacoor

• City of Bacoor
• Bacoor Information (as retrieved from Cavite.info)
• Official Website of the Provincial Government of Cavite
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• 2010 Philippine Census Information
• [http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/297905/news/regions/local-media-practitioner-shot-in-bacoor-cavite Local media practitioner Jun Valdecantos shot in Bacoor, Cavite
• 2 Revilla supporters killed in Cavite ambush
• Cavite bet's nephew shot, in critical condition

	Cavite City Bacoor Bay	Manila Bay
	Kawit Imus City		Las Piñas City
		Bacoor City
		Dasmariñas City	Muntinlupa City

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