Rosario, Cavite

There are three religious versions for naming the town "Rosario." These are:

The first version says, the image of the Madonna and the Child was found one day floating on the water by a group of kids playing along the seashore. They played with the image, using it as a toy and afterwards hid it in the bushes near the sea. Every time they came back, however, they would see the image already floating leisurely on the water, as if waiting for them. They thought it strange, but could not explain how the image got back to the water.

Not long after their elders learned about the image and took it to an empty nipa shack. Thus began a public veneration of the Madonna and Child. The hut was transformed into a place of worship. News of miraculous happenings attributed to the image spread around. The religious fervor was so great and the people were moved by the image that they decided to adopt it as the patroness of the town and changed the name Salinas Marcella to Rosario.

The different names given to the town are remembered. Marcella exists as one of the national roads of the town. Salinas is associated with the finest and famous smoked fish (Tinapang Salinas) produced by the townspeople.

Rosario was formerly called Tejero, which may have originated from the word tejer (Spanish to weave) because weaving fish nets was then the main occupation of the women. Rosario was also called Salinas derived from the word sal (Spanish salt) during the Philippine Revolution because salt-making was a prime industry of the town. The place was likewise called Marcella or Marcelles due to its proximity to the sea (“mar” in Spanish). Rosario was, finally, named in honor of their patroness Nuestra Señora Virgen del Santissimo Rosario, Reina de Caracol or (Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary).[5]

On October 22, 1845, Spanish Governor General Narciso Claveria promulgated a Decree for the establishment of a new town comprising Salinas-Leiton and Tierra Alta of San Francisco de Malabon, what is now the city of Gen. Trias. On October 27, Don Juan Arlegui, Vicar-General of the Archdiocese of Manila informed the Politico-Military Governor of Cavite Don Miguel Roca, that he was designated by the Governor-General to look for a person of unquestionable integrity who will be entrusted with the money for the construction of the church building.

On November 3, 1845, presbyter Don Mamerto Quijano Ner, who was at that time one of the priests of the Curia of Manila, was appointed as the first parish priest and served until December 1866.

The Municipality of Rosario was originally a part of San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias City). It became an independent municipality in 1846, one year after the founding of the Santissimo Rosario Parish. The second smallest town in Cavite Province, Rosario has now emerged into the "biggest" in terms of its land area nor its per capita income but because of the great transitions that occurred with the town's political, social, cultural and economic developments since 1845.

Rosario is 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Manila, and 17 kilometres (11 mi) south-south-west of Cavite City. It occupies part of the north to north-western section of the province along the western coast of Luzon. It is flanked by Noveleta on the east, Manila Bay on the north, General Trias on the southeast and Tanza on the south-west.[5]

In the 2015 census, the population of Rosario, Cavite, was 110,706 people,[3] with a density of 2,900 inhabitants per square kilometre or 7,500 inhabitants per square mile.

Rosario’s potential labor force comprises 59.25% of the figure given above, with the majority engaged in fishing and trade activities. The growth rate is 3.63%.

SM City Rosario, the 4th SM mall in Cavite.

Fishing is a major economic activity due to the abundant fishing grounds particularly in Barangays Wawa, Sapa Muzon and Ligtong. The Rosario Fish Port in Barangay Sapa is a major fishing port. Predominant cottage industries related to fishing include smoked fish (tinapa) processing, fish drying (daing), fish paste (bagoong) making, fish sauce (patis) making and canning. Marine species caught within municipal fishing grounds include squid, mackerel, slipmouth, herring, goatfish, tuna, mullet, porgy, shrimp, barracuda, cavalla, snapper, catfish and roundscad.

The Fil-Oil Development and Management Corporation (FMDC) has begun developing 134 hectares (330 acres) of the Philippine National Oil Corporation property into a special economic zone, the Cavite Economic Zone, that will include an industrial estate, low-cost housing, and a new port facility. A proposed reclamation will increase the land area of Barangay Sapa II and III by 200 hectares (490 acres).

On November 20, 2009, SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall-operator in the country, opened its 36th mall: SM City Rosario.

The following are the elected officials of the town elected last May 13, 2019 which serves until 2022:

Primary schools:

• Rosario Elementary School
• Agustin Abadilla Elementary School
• David P. Jimenez Elementary School
• Mayor Calixto D. Enriquez Elementary School( Ligtong Elem School )
• Silangan Elementary School
• Bagbag I Elementary School-Main (Greenfields Subd.)
• Bagbag II Elementary School-Annex (Sunrise Subd.)
• Tejeros Convention Elementary School
• Bible Christian Academy (Cuevas Subd.)
• Galilee Academy (Manggahan Compound)
• Santo Rosario Catholic School (Most Holy Rosary Parish Compound)
• King Arthur Academy of Cavite, Inc. (Karlaville Subd.)

Secondary schools:

• Bagbag National High School
• Cafuir Learning Center
• Cavite State University - Science Education Laboratory School
• Rosario Institute
• Rosario National High School
• Escuela Secondaria Señor de Salinas
• STI High School - Rosario
• Bible Christian Academy (Cuevas Sub
• Galilee Academy(Manggahan Compound)
• Santo Rosario Catholic School (Most Holy Rosary Parish Compound)

Tertiary schools:

• Cavite State University Rosario Campus
• STI College - Rosario Branch
• Imus Computer College - Rosario Branch
• Datacom Institute of Computer and Technology - Rosario Campus

• 
  Welcome arch
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  Nuestra Señora Virgen del Santissimo Rosario
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  San Isidro Labrador Parish Church
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  Town hall
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  Rosario commercial center

Fish port

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rosario, Cavite.

• Rosario Profile at PhilAtlas.com
• Rosario, Cavite - cavite.gov.ph
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Philippine Census Information