Dasmariñas, Province of Cavite, Calabarzon, Philippines

🇵🇭 Dasmariñas, officially known as the City of Dasmariñas, often shortened to Dasma, is a 1st class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines.

It is the largest city both in terms of area and population in Cavite. Being located just 30 km (19 mi) south of Manila, the growing congestion and outward urban expansion of the Manila Metropolitan area has led to its rapid development in the late 1900s. This growth is manifested by the influx of shopping malls, universities, hospitals, industrial parks, and the growing number of residential subdivisions accommodating its growing population.

Economy The city of Dasmariñas is one of the fastest growing local government units in the province of Cavite. Numerous commercial establishments, which include major shopping malls, fast foods, groceries, convenient stores, restaurants and other service-oriented businesses, are mostly concentrated in the City Centre and the Central Business District. Industrial establishments are located in the outskirts of the city. It has the greatest number of universities in the province.

From an agricultural-based economy, the town of Dasmariñas has evolved into a highly urbanised, commercialised and industrialised city. It now boasts of three industrial estates, namely: First Cavite Industrial Estate (FCIE) in Barangay Langkaan, Dasmariñas Technopark located in Barangay Paliparan I and NHA Industrial Park in Bagong Bayan. Aside from these industrial areas, there are 240 other factories/business establishments scattered in the different barangays that sum up to 309 operational industries in the city. Dasmariñas is home to hundreds of thousands of residents who occupy the more than 70 residential subdivisions in the city. It also serves as a haven to investors with its industrial estates and diverse pool of manpower. The rapid growth of the city's population near universities, industrial estates and factories provides a ready market for real estate ventures such as subdivisions, apartments and other support services. Its infrastructure projects involving major road construction and widening support the city in its functional role as one of the residential, commercial, industrial and university centres of Cavite. To protect its environment, Dasmariñas has adopted its Luntiang (English: Green) Dasmariñas program, which is envisioned to plant 100,000 seedlings planted over the town during the year 2000. In 2012, the city posted PHP 1,137,968,919 in income, with 37% of it (PHP 420,844,216) sourced locally.

Commerce Commerce and trade transactions are intensively undertaken in the identified commercial areas along P. Campos Avenue, Camerino Avenue, Emilio Aguinalo Highway, University Avenue, the Congressional South Avenue and other areas.

Commercial establishments are lined along major thoroughfares. A strip pattern of commercial growth are evident at other places in Dasmariñas.

Commercial developments along Aguinaldo Highway from Silang to Pala-Pala junction particularly within areas adjacent to the Congressional Avenue shows the nature and extent of commercial activities in Dasmariñas. The presence of local commercial centres or shopping centres such as the Highway Plaza, CM Plaza and a branch of a Metro Manila-based shopping centre, the Walter Mart which houses different local and nationwide known commercial establishments sets the trend of commercial developments in that part of the city. These are further enhanced by the presence of banks, financial centres and other establishments. There are also commercial establishments supportive of or are offshoots of the educational and medical services being rendered by the De La Salle University Medical Center and the Dr. Jose P. Rizal National Medical Research Center. These makes the area a financial and commercial district of the municipality. The old commercial developments within the Poblacion area (Zone I, I-B, II, III and IV) provides for the needs of the old town residents and the subdivision migrants on the Southern portion of the municipality. The nature of commercial activity being that of a neighborhood commercial centre supports the daily needs of the population. The new location of the public market opens the city to the neighboring marketing population of other settlement areas. It likewise make the public market accessible to all the population both from the reselttlement areas and the old townsite. Thus, the financial and commercial activity in the Poblacion, the Dasmariñas Central Market, the Highway Plaza, the Dasmariñas Commercial Complex, SM City Dasmariñas, SM Marketmall Dasmariñas, Robinsons Place Dasmariñas, Terraza Dasma, Walter Mart Dasmariñas, Central Mall Dasmariñas, The District – Dasmariñas enhance the commercial centre role of Dasmariñas.

Industry Dasmariñas is an industrial city. The growth has been greatly influenced by its proximity to Metro Manila and the national government's industrial boom. It becomes the choice location for business enterprises being in a crossroad of development south of Manila.

Industrial developments along the Governor's Drive (Carmona-Ternate Road) specifically the First Cavite Industrial Estate, the Reynold's Phils. and different industries dotting the road from Carmona and Silang boundaries to General Trias as well as those at the south-eastern portion of Aguinaldo Highway providing employment and livelihood opportunities to the locals. Taxes are being paid by these industries help provide for the basic services and amenities of the city.

On the south-western part of the city is First Cavite Industrial Estate, a 283-hectare (700-acre) industrial subdivision located at Langkaan provides adequate facilities to light/medium industries. It is a joint project of the National Development Company, Marubeni Corporation, and the Japan International Development Organization Ltd. Situated in Dasmariñas, the estate is complete with power supply, water system, and telecommunication facilities, with 1,500 lines. The estate includes a General Industrial Zone, which has a customs office and warehouse.

Preferred locators are those involved in non-pollutive small and medium-scale industries. Presently, 48 companies have located their business in this state.

The Dasmariñas Bagong Bayan – NHA Industrial Estate is about 8.6 hectares. The Local Waterworks Utilities Administration manages the water system. Its 18 pumps and its 18 elevated storage tanks, having an average capacity of 60,000 gallons each, can very well serve the needs of the occupants. Labor-intensive, export-oriented, non- hazardous, and non-pollutive industries are best situated in the area. GMA-NHA Industrial Estate The General Mariano Galvez – NHA Industrial Estate compromises 10 hectares of land in the municipality of Gen. Mariano Alvarez. Types of industries preferred for this estate are those, which are non-pollutive, labor-intensive, export-oriented, and non-hazardous such as the 6 companies that have located therein. Other industrial estates located in Dasmariñas are the Dasmariñas Techno Park and City Land Industrial Estate Dasmariñas.

Real Estate Vista Land launched Vista Alabang in 2014, a township of 1,500 hectares spanning the area where Muntinlupa, Las Piñas, Bacoor and Dasmariñas meet, with the University Town area of the township under the jurisdiction of Dasmariñas. There are plans to establish a University of the Philippines campus in the University Town area which will focus on technopreneurship. In 2017, an innovation hub named UP Alabang was unveiled.

Meanwhile, Ayala Land established Vermosa, a 700-hectare township straddling the cities of Imus and Dasmariñas in 2015. The first project named The Courtyards span an area also under the city.

Tourist Industry The presence of Aguinaldo Highway and Governor's Drive makes the city a driving stop for tourists travelling to Tagaytay and Batangas from Metro Manila and to Laguna from the towns on the western part of Cavite. The city has a large number of hotels and resorts catering to tourists. The DC Park (also known as Kadiwa Park) located on Congressional Road is a large park featuring statues and animatronics of animals and dinosaurs.

The Museo De La Salle, located within the campus of the De La Salle University-Dasmariñas, is a unique, cultural, cross-disciplinary institution serving as a permanent museum of the De La Salle University System. As a resource centre for both indoor and outdoor collections, it dedicates itself to the gathering of collectible objects of intrinsic value significant to the preservation of certain aspects of the Philippine ilustrado lifestyle. It envisions itself to be a leading contributor to the Philippine University museums' movement. It seeks to form productive partnerships that serve communities in creative ways. It vows to assist the member schools of the System in the core areas of teaching, research, community outreach, and administration. Through active collaboration with other museums in the nation, it promotes the interests of museology and upholds appreciation of the arts and culture.

The Daño Street offers a great view of the city's fields and formerly was the site of the tiangge or a bazaar during the Christmas season.

The Promenade Des Dasmariñas is an urban garden park located along the tributaries of Imus River. and is part of the river rehabilitation and beautification project of the city. It was inaugurated on 25 March 2019.