Mendez-Nuñez 5.8

Mendez is a fourth class urban municipality in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the, it has a population of people, in an area of 43.27 square kilometers.GeographyThe municipality of Mendez is located from Metro Manila 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.BarangaysMendez is politically subdivided into 24 barangays.HistoryThe town 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.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 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 Castro Méndez Núñez. In 1856, when they were still Spanish naval officers, Malcampo and Mendez-Nuñez, established the first Masonic lodge 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 pirates in Mindanao.