PopCom marks birthdays of 100th million babies

The Regional Population Commission (POPCOM-10) yesterday symbolically marked the third birthdays of Northern Mindanao's 100 millionth babies by reminding the population to 'manage' the needs of their families.

Jeremias Gupit, the POPCOM-10 regional director, explained that the current Philippine administration does not put so much focus on the control of the population, but rather on how to properly manage the needs of the millions of Filipinos.

"The president is not really into controlling the population because it is the primary ingredient for the state, why control it? We should manage the population. Look at what can be done for these children?," Gupit said.

Between 12 midnight and one in the morning three years ago, Julianne Cobayan of Barangay Tagpangi in Cagayan de Oro City and Rundy Boy Dantes of Misamis Oriental were both proclaimed as the one hundred millionth babies of the whole country. Four other babies from Lanao del Norte, Tangub, Bukidnon, and Camiguin were born at almost the same time.

"This, however is not only a celebration of their birthdays per se. This is a dramatization of the necessity of the needs of these young children and how important it is for us to care for these needs today," Gupit said.

With the birth of the one hundred millionth baby, Gupit explained that by 2015 the country's population has grown to such as big number and is still counting today.

"But we want to make them [children] the capital for our country's development so we need to take care of them while they are still very little," he said.

He explained that the necessities that POPCOM and its partner offices such as the National Nutrition Council (NNC), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), and the Department of Health (DOH), are focusing mostly on three essential needs.

Foremost on the list, he said, that the children should get enough nutritious food to eat. Secondly, that they must have good health services and benefits from community agencies. And lastly, that they can have access to more opportunities for a good future.

“We have not come to arrange anything for their education as of now but it is a good notion to also put focus on that aside from the ones we are doing for their health,” Gupit said.