Filipino: Nagkakaisang Sambayanan tungo sa Patuloy na Pagbabago at Kaunlaran English: (A United People towards Continuous Change and Development) Filipino: Isang Bayang Nagkakaisa, Isang Bayang May Pananampalataya English: (A United Town, A Town with Faith)
Tanza, officially the Municipality of Tanza (
Tagalog: Bayan ng Tanza), formerly known as Santa Cruz de Malabon, is a 1st class urban
municipality in the
province of
Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 312,116 people.[3] It has a land area of 95.59 square kilometers (36.91 sq mi), making it the third largest municipality by land area in the province.
Tanza was awarded the "Seal of Good Financial Housekeeping" in 2011, 2012, 2018, 2019, and 2021 and the "Seal of Good Local Governance" in 2016 by the
Department of the Interior and Local Government. The municipality was named 2014 most competitive in
economic dynamism by the National Competitiveness Council, eighth most populous municipality (2015 NSO Census), and 15th largest Municipality Revenue Earner based on the 2016 Bureau of Local Government Finance Financial Report.[citation needed]
Tanza is the place where
Emilio Aguinaldo was sworn as the president of the revolutionary government of the Philippines, in front of the ancient Santa Cruz or Holy Cross (the titular of Tanza's main Catholic parish). Other officials elected at
Tejeros Convention elections, including
Mariano Trias as vice president, also took their oath with Aguinaldo. Also, Tanza was the birthplace of
Felipe G. Calderon, the person who drafted the
Malolos Constitution.
Tanza is the home of Cavite Gateway Terminal, the first roll-on, roll-off barge terminal in the Philippines.[5]
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by
adding to it. (December 2019)
Tanza was formerly a strip of land incorporated for official purpose to the municipality of
San Francisco de Malabon, now called General Trias. The first settlers were the Fabian brothers who migrated here. This place was particularly devoted to grazing and was called Estancia (1780).
In the mid-19th century, the Secularization movement that was largely centered in Santa Cruz de Malabón led by
Pedro Pelaez.
On October 15, 1903, the
Philippine Commission approved Act No. 947, annexing Santa Cruz de Malabon to the adjacent town of San Francisco de Malabon.[6] In 1909, a resolution was passed by the San Francisco de Malabon municipal council to reconvert Santa Cruz de Malabon into a separate and independent municipality; it took effect in 1910.[7]
In 1914, Florentino Joya, the then-representative of
Cavite to the
Philippine Assembly, worked for the passage of a bill which renamed the town of Santa Cruz de Malabon to Tanza by virtue of Philippine Legislative Act No. 2390 dated February 28, 1914.[8]
Tanza celebrated Araw ng Tanza 100th anniversary with a theme "Tanza, Sandaang Taon Na!" February 28, 2014, with a parade of Higante figures across the town proper with fireworks display and a Lantern festival at evening.
Cityhood
Tanza, alongside
Silang, is one of the two municipalities in Cavite that has already reached the requirements to become a new city in the province, yet no bills had been filed in the
Congress to convert the two towns into a component city of the province.
Geography
Tanza is among of the 23 cities and municipalities that comprise
Cavite. It is located in the northwestern part of Cavite lying within latitudes 140° 24’ north and longitude 120° 51’ east. It is bounded by
Rosario to the North;
General Trias to the east;
Trece Martires and
Naic to the south; and
Manila Bay on the west. Tanza is 23 kilometres (14 mi) from
Imus and 33 kilometres (21 mi) from
Manila.
Barangays
Tanza is politically subdivided into 41
barangays.[9] Each barangay consists of
puroks and some have
sitios.
In the 2020 census, the population of Tanza, Cavite, was 312,116 people,[3] with a density of 3,300 inhabitants per square kilometer or 8,500 inhabitants per square mile.
The main languages spoken are
Tagalog, and
English. A large number of people from farther provinces have migrated to Tanza, resulting in minor but significant usage of the
Bicolano,
Cebuano,
Ilocano,
Hiligaynon and
Waray languages.
Large retail operators have shown significant interest to the growth and increase of land value in cities throughout the Philippines. They are seen as highly developed urban centers where a lot of economic activities take place and is important to urbanization and development. Tanza is eyed as a center of exponential growth for commerce, industry and service, strengthening its stature as one of the fastest growing municipalities in Cavite province.
SM Supermalls, a subsidiary of
SM Prime, the largest mall operator in the country, since 2014 is negotiating with other landowners nearby
Antero Soriano Highway in Barangay Daang Amaya 2 on their plan to build a new SM Mall in the town.
SM City Tanza was opened in October 2022 as their 80th mall in the country.[23]
Sir Raymundo A. del Rosario, KGOR - former Mayor of Tanza, elected as Deputy Supreme Commander of the Knights of Rizal, a civic and patriotic organization chartered under RA 646