DAANBANTAYAN, CEBU, Philippines— Despite being one of the northern Cebu areas hit the hardest by typhoon Ruby, Daanbantayan town still had something to be happy about as 12 healthy babies were born there at the height of the typhoon.
Strong wind brought by typhoon Ruby was already felt in the town, located at the northernmost tip of the island, around 9 a.m. last Saturday.
Since midnight that day until yesterday, however, pregnant women defied the odds and rushed to the Daanbantayan District Hospital after going into labor.
Juvelyn Panghubasan, 27, and her partner, Edu Virgo, 28, was one of them.
She was already in one of the private homes that accepted evacuees on December 6 when she felt that she was going to give birth already.
At 6 p.m., Juvelyn gave birth to a healthy baby girl, whom they named Ruby Marie after the typhoon.
Juvelyn said they did not have any ready names for their firstborn but friends and neighbors had teased her that if the baby would be born at the height of the typhoon, the girl should be named Ruby.
Edu said he didn’t mind naming the baby after typhoon Ruby since it would be a remembrance on the blessing they received during the typhoon.
Another infant born in Daanbantayan while Ruby was pummeling the town was baby boy Joshman Lederos.
Richard said that if their baby was a girl, they also would not mind naming her Ruby.
Meanwhile, an evacuee also gave birth to a baby girl at the Cebu City Medical Center at 1 a.m. yesterday.
Juliet Sanchez, 37, has evacuated to the Cebu City Central Elementary School last Friday night due to the typhoon threat, but had to be brought to the hospital after complaining of labor pains past 11 p.m. last Saturday.
Sanchez said that she has not decided yet as to the name of her baby.
“Dili sad ko ganahan og Ruby ang ipangalan kay mahadlok ko.Bisan og wala miy kwarta, blessing man gihapon ni among baby,” she said.
Another mother, Marilyn Largo, 40, also gave birth to a baby girl around 11:30 p.m. last Saturday.
Unlike Sanchez, Largo said she was eyeing to name her baby girl Ruby since the typhoon is memorable to her.
But while the newborn babies in Daanbantayan town and in Cebu City were received with joy despite the typhoon, a 25-year-old mother tried to abandon hers in Liloan, Cebu yesterday morning.
The woman was discovered by the police to have fabricated the story that she found an abandoned baby inside a red bag outside her rented house in Barangay San Vicente, Liloan at 7:30 a.m. yesterday.
The woman eventually admitted to the police of deciding to abandon her baby for fear that she would be kicked out of their house if her family finds out that she actually got pregnant and already gave birth.
“Giingnan man siya sa iyang mama nga palayason sa balay kon mabuntis siya og balik,” Arcelo said.
The newborn baby, on the other hand, was then turned over to the grandmother at 1:30 p.m. yesterday.
Grace Yana, Department of Social Welfare and Development 7 Focal Person for Children social worker, said a professional psychological assessment has to be done to establish that the baby’s mother is qualified or not to take custody of the child.
“Sakto ra ilang gibuhat nga didto sa lola gihatag ang baby upon initial assessment nga dili capable moatiman ang inahan. As much as possible, we exhaust every possible way nga dili malayo sa pamilya ang bata,” she said. —AJ de la Torre-Orong, Jean Marvette A. Demecillo, Grace Melanie I. Lacamiento/RHM (FREEMAN)