Mendez, officially the Municipality of Mendez-Nuñez (), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite (; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region. On the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest of Manila, i ...

, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,879 people.

Etymology

The municipality of Mendez-Nuñez was originally known as ''"Gahitan"'', one of the many barrios of Indang. The name was derived from the word ''"gahit"'' meaning "to cut", because the people then had to cut down tall and thick cogon grass that abounded in the place in order to clear areas for agricultural and residential purpose.

History

As time went on, the number of houses in Gahitan increased so that the sitio eventually became a barrio and finally a full-fledged town on 1 December 1875, thanks to

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Jose Malcampo y Monje (1874-1877). Malcampo incorporated the three barrios of Gahitan, Palocpoc and Anuling into one independent municipality called Méndez Núñez, after a Spanish naval officer and close friend, Commodore Casto Méndez Núñez. In 1856, when they were still Spanish naval officers, Malcampo and Mendez-Nuñez, established the first

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

in Kawit under a charter from the Grand Lodge of Portugal. The friendship of these two officers had been tested in many a battle against

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

pirates in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. Pedro Aure was the

gobernadorcillo The (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Captaincy General of the Philippines, Philippines during the History of the Philippines (1565–1898), Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined ...

of Mendez during its first year as a municipality in 1876. Cayetano Aure, perhaps a relative of Pedro, was the first and only capitan municipal of Mendez during the

First Philippine Republic The Philippine Republic (), now officially remembered as the First Philippine Republic and also referred to by historians as the Malolos Republic, was a state established in Malolos, Bulacan, during the Philippine Revolution against the Spanish ...

(1899-1901). Pedro's son, Marcelino Aure, became a famous general during the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

. His

nom de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...

was ''Alapaap'' (Cloud). Mendez continued to be a municipality from 1875 to October 15, 1903 when, under ''Act No. 947'' of the Philippine Commission, reduced the 23 municipalities of Cavite to eleven. Mendez and Bailen (now General Emilio Aguinaldo) were incorporated into the municipality of Alfonso. But 12 years later, on January 1, 1915, Mendez regained its independent status as a municipality of Cavite.

Geography

The municipality of Mendez is located from

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

and is accessible via Aguinaldo Highway. It is one of the smallest and upland towns of Cavite province. It is bounded to the north and east by Indang, to the south by Tagaytay, and to the west by Alfonso.

Barangays

Mendez is politically subdivided into 24

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s, as indicated in the matrix below. Each barangay consists of puroks and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

Climate

While it shares a general climate as the rest of the province Mendez' climate, due to its proximity to Tagaytay City, is tropical highland, with low temperatures most especially during the early dry season.

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Mendez, Cavite, was 34,879 people, with a density of .

Economy

Government

Elected officials

The following are the elected officials of the municipality elected last May 9, 2022 to a term lasting until June 30, 2025:

Notable people

* Josh Mojica

References

External links

Profile: Mendez, Cavite - Official Website of the Province of CaviteProfile: Mendez, Cavite - DILG Calabarzon Region
* Philippine Standard Geographic Codebr>Philippine Census Information
{{Authority control Municipalities of Cavite