Early history in the early 1900s Like
Cavite City (originally called
Cavite La Punta) and
Noveleta (
La Tierra Alta), Imus used to be a part of Cavite el Viejo (now
Kawit), whose
parish church was built by the
Jesuits during the administration of Archbishop Miguel Garcia Serrano, 1618–1629. For more than a century and a half the people of Imus had to endure walking or traveling of dirt road to attend religious services or transact official business in the city proper. The difficulty of communication between Imus and Cavite el Viejo was a long-standing complaint of the Imuseños until another religious order, the
Augustinian Recollects, as a consequence of the
British occupation of Manila in 1762, established a parish church in Imus, in what is now known as Bayang Luma. However, the church site was far from the estate house of the
hacienda acquired in 1686 by the Recollect Corporation, and when the church was destroyed by the strong
typhoon of September 1779, the Recollect Friars transferred it to barrio Toclong, and finally to sitio de Balangon, now the city plaza of Imus. With the establishment of the Recollect parish the people of Imus gained their religious emancipation from the Jesuit-run parish of Cavite el Viejo. In 1774, Recollect Fr. Pedro San Buenaventura petitioned the government to "separate the
inquilinos (tenants) of Imus from the political jurisdiction of the government of "Cavite el Viejo". After a considerable time of waiting, the petition was granted and Imus became an independent municipality on October 3, 1795. The 1818 Spanish census showed the area had 2,033 native families and 125 Spanish-Filipino families. On May 28, 1898, Imus gained its independence from Spanish colonial rule after the last remaining stronghold of forces from the Spanish empire had been defeated in the
Battle of Alapan as headed by General
Emilio Aguinaldo. This battle led to the
Philippine Declaration of Independence in Kawit on June 12, 1898. The modern flag of the Philippines was first unfurled in victory during this battle as they march their way to the present day Cavite City, together with the captured forces of Spain. In commemoration of the event, a Battle of Alapan marker was constructed inside the compound of Alapan Elementary School on May 28, 1998, and was inaugurated by President
Fidel V. Ramos. Although on May 28, 2014, a new marker and the Imus National Heritage Park were inaugurated at Barangay Alapan 2-A to make the initially constructed marker more accessible to the public. On October 15, 1903, the
Philippine Commission enacted Act No. 947, merging the adjacent towns of
Bacoor and
Perez-Dasmariñas with Imus. Bacoor was later separated from Imus in 1906, followed by Perez-Dasmariñas in 1917.
Modern history On June 11, 1977, then President
Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1163, which transferred the provincial capital of Cavite from
Trece Martires to Imus. There is no other enabling law after that, that specifies the capital of Cavite On May 28, 2008,
National Flag Day, the city celebrated the
First Wagayway Festival (Flag-Waving Festival) signifying the very first unfurling of the
Flag of the Philippines during the Battle of Alapan on May 28, 1898, against the
Spanish colonizers. The battle was a major victory for General
Emilio Aguinaldo (later the first president of the Philippine Republic) during the
Philippine Revolution, which eventually led to the
Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, in nearby
Kawit,
Cavite. The five-day event was highlighted by the
historical reenactment of events from the sewing of the flag by Filipino exiles in
Hong Kong, the Battle of Alapan, to the defeat of the Filipinos by the American troops silencing the dreams of an independent Philippines. The reenactment included students, city employees and barangay officials.
Lone District of Imus A bill was filed by
Representative Joseph Abaya with co-authors Congressman Pidi Barzaga and Crispin Remulla creating the municipality of Imus as a lone
Legislative districts of the Philippines. The bill was supported by Senator
Panfilo Lacson, Senator
Richard Gordon and Senator
Bong Revilla. On October 22, 2009, Republic Act 9727 was approved by the
President of the Philippines creating the lone District Imus as the "Third District of Cavite".
Cityhood During the 10th Congress (1995–1998), a
House Bill (HB) no. 08960 was filed by Congressman Renato P. Dragon together with the other cityhood bills for Bacoor (HB 08959) and
Dasmariñas (HB 08931). The bills did not pass the Congress. Congressman Erineo Maliksi filed House Bill no. HB01989 on August 3, 2010, which created the city of Imus. The bill was enacted into law as Republic Act No. 10161. The plebiscite required to ratify the conversion of the municipality of Imus into a component city was scheduled June 30, 2012. Republic Act No. 10161 was ratified by the registered voters of Imus through a plebiscite conducted on that day, converted the municipality of Imus in the Province of Cavite into a component city to be known as the City of Imus. There were about 22,742 voters who cast their ballots in the town's 453 polling precincts. The "yes" votes won overwhelmingly getting 20,438 while the "no" votes got 2,304. ==Geography==