1. BACOOR , CAVITE
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.
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.
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 in Bacoor
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

2. recaptured the towns in Bacoor and defeated the Japanese Imperial forces towards the end of World
War II.
Push for Cityhood in Bacoor
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-Arroyoas 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]
Economy of Bacoor
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

3. 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.