Alfonso, Cavite

Alfonso, officially the Municipality of Alfonso (Tagalog: Bayan ng Alfonso), is a municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 60,583 people.^[5]

Alfonso was totally forested until the 17th century when a few pocket settlements sprouted. The town was originally part of Barrio Lumampong in the town of Indang. In the course of time, the pocket settlements grew into sitios and later on into barrios, becoming its own barrio called Alas-as.^[6] The town became a separate district municipality from Indang on 16 May 1859 through the efforts of the community leaders Bonifacio Aveo and Felix del Mundo. The new town was called Alas-as for until 1876.

The name refers to the pandan tree used for the construction of houses and bears sweet fruit. It was, eventually, named after King Alfonso XII of Spain. Alfonso was initially composed of the barrios of Taywanak, Pajo, Esperanza, Marahan, Matagbak, Sinaliw and Kaytitinga.

Don Narciso Mojica was the capitan municipal of Alfonso at the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution. A few days after the Cry of Balintawak, on 31 August 1896, General Mariano Trías ordered the liquidation of all Spaniards in the municipality. In the bloody battle that followed, the leaders of the revolutionists were General Hipolito Rint, Captain Eriberto Cetro (Kapitan Berto) and Predencio Rolle (Tandang Doro).^[6][7][8]

On 15 October 1903, the adjacent towns of Bailen and Mendez-Nuñez merged with Alfonso by virtue of Act No. 947 enacted by the Philippine Commission.^[9] Both towns were later separated in 1915 to become independent once again.^[10]

On 1 February 1945,^{[Notes 1]} the townspeople of Alfonso were at panic due to the coming of Japanese forces and fled to their hiding places. Only the guerrillas remained in the town to defend. A long battle ensued at night, in which were able to hold off the Japanese, causing their retreat from the town. None of the guerrillas were wounded.^[6]

The next day, 2 February, another battle began by afternoon. However, the guerrillas were still able to hold off in their trenches, causing the Japanese to retreat. Along the way, they burned several houses in Alas-as. Eventually, a runner came and informed the townsfolk that the Americans had landed at Nasugbu.^[6]

Alfonso is an upland town situated at the south-western portion of the Cavite province. It is 74 kilometers (46 mi) from Manila via Tagaytay. Magallanes bounds it on the west, Batangas province on the south, Mendez and Tagaytay on the east, General Aguinaldo on the north-west and Maragondon and Indang on the north-east.

Alfonso is politically subdivided into 32 barangays, as indicated in the matrix below.^[11] Each barangay consists of puroks and some have sitios.

In the 2020 census, the population of Alfonso, Cavite, was 59,306 people,^[19] with a density of 890 inhabitants per square kilometre or 2,300 inhabitants per square mile.

Poverty incidence of Alfonso

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]}

The following are the duly elected officials of Alfonso, Cavite for the term 2022–2025.

The Alfonso Schools District Office governs all educational institutions within the municipality. It oversees the management and operations of all private and public, from primary to secondary schools.^[28]

• Victorious Christian Montessori College Alfonso

• Profile: Alfonso, Cavite – Official Website of the Province of Cavite
• Profile: Alfonso, Cavite – DILG Calabarzon Region
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information