It’s a girl! Symbolic 100 millionth Filipino born in Manila

(Updated 1:42 p.m.) The Philippine population formally reached 100 million in the first moments of Sunday with the birth of a baby girl symbolizing the milestone.

The 100 millionth Filipino was born at the Fabella Hospital in Manila at 12:35 a.m., radio dzBB's James Agustin reported.

The baby weighed 2.8 kilos and was born to one Dailin Cabigayan, 27, a resident of Manila's Sampaloc district.

At a press conference at the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila on Sunday, baby Chonalyn Sentino and her mother were presented to the media.

Sanggol na sumisimbolo sa ika-100 milyong Pilipino, isinilang sa Fabella Hospital. | via @_jamesagustin @dzbb pic.twitter.com/7mUoCg03uS

— GMA News (@gmanews) July 27, 2014
 
 
 
 
 
 

According to a report on Agence France-Presse, the baby (whose name the news site spells "Jennalyn")  is actually one of 100 infants born in state hospitals all over the archipelago who received the symbolic designation of "100,000,000th baby."

Earlier, the Population Commission in Western Visayas said the 100 millionth Filpino would be born at about 12:06 a.m. of July 27.

Population Commission executive director Dr. Juan Antonio Perez III had said that their calculations on the 100 millionth baby was based on the trend that 4,608 babies were born daily.

"This is both an opportunity and a challenge... an opportunity we should take advantage of and a challenge we recognize," Perez told AFP.

"We'd like to push the fertility rate down to two children per [woman's] lifetime," from the current level of an average of three per woman, he added.

Perez also told AFP that the government will monitor each of the designated 100 children over the coming years to see if they are receiving the required health services. — Joel Locsin/DVM/BM, GMA News