Current Time in Cainta, Philippines

Cainta is a municipality in the province of Rizal in the Philippines, lying immediately east of Metro Manila and forming part of the continuous urban area of the national capital region. It sits on low ground between the Marikina valley and the shore of Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the country, and the terrain rises gently towards the hills of Antipolo to the east. The tropical climate is hot and humid throughout the year, with a pronounced rainy season from June to November when typhoons can bring heavy flooding.

With a population of well over three hundred and seventy thousand, Cainta is one of the most populous municipalities in the Philippines, larger than many chartered cities, and its density is among the highest in the country. Most residents work in Metro Manila, particularly in the business districts of Ortigas and Makati, and the town functions as a major residential community with its own commercial strips, industrial estates and services.

Cainta was founded in 1571, only months after the Spanish established Manila, when the expedition of Juan de Salcedo took the fortified settlement that stood here. It is therefore one of the oldest towns in the country. During the British occupation of Manila between 1762 and 1764, sepoy soldiers of the British East India Company were stationed in the area, and when the British withdrew a number of them remained and settled locally. Their descendants form part of the town's population, and Cainta has long been known for this South Asian strand in its ancestry, an unusual feature in the Philippines.

The most important historical landmark is the parish church of Our Lady of Light, whose origins date from the early eighteenth century. The image of the Virgin enshrined there is deeply venerated, and the church was rebuilt after severe damage in the Second World War, retaining its old stone walls and bell tower. The town fiesta in honour of the patroness is celebrated each year with processions, street decorations and feasting.

Modern Cainta is a place of shopping centres, markets, schools and subdivisions strung along Ortigas Avenue Extension and Felix Avenue, two of the busiest roads in the region. The Manggahan Floodway, an enormous engineered channel built to divert floodwaters from the Marikina River into Laguna de Bay, forms the western boundary of the municipality.

Excursions from Cainta lead to Antipolo with its pilgrimage church and hilltop views over Manila, to the waterfalls and forest of the Sierra Madre foothills, and into Metro Manila with its museums, the walled city of Intramuros and the bay.

Transport relies on jeepneys, buses, tricycles and the road network, with the extension of the light rail line eastward significantly improving access to the capital.

Schools, colleges and technical institutes serve the municipality, and the universities of Manila are within commuting distance.

Cainta is important as one of the oldest and most crowded towns of the Manila fringe, combining Spanish colonial history with the daily energy of a modern Filipino suburb.