How many babies are born in the Philippines every February 29?
Published February 29, 2024 11:57pm How many Filipinos are born on February 29? February 29 or Leap Day happens only every four years or during leap years which have 366 days compared to the usual 365. According to Mark Salazar’s report on “24 Oras,” records of the Philippine Statistics Authority show that over 3,000 babies […]
Tomas Kauer - News Moderator 
How many Filipinos are born on February 29?
February 29 or Leap Day happens only every four years or during leap years which have 366 days compared to the usual 365.
According to Mark Salazar’s report on “24 Oras,” records of the Philippine Statistics Authority show that over 3,000 babies are born every February 29.
From the 1948 to 2020, PSA records show that an average of 3,312 babies are born on Leap Days.
Every four years, we welcome a new leap year, which is a calendar year that contains a 29th day in the month of February.
According to Kuya Kim’s report on “24 Oras,” Thursday, leap years are needed so that we can align or synchronize our calendar with the astronomical year.
The earth’s complete revolution in the sun takes 365.25 days, and when the extra 25 days per year are combined, a full day is made, which we call a leap day.
A woman from San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan named Patricia Lantin is among those who were born on a leap day and only get to celebrate her actual birthday on leap years.
Patricia just turned 24, but if counting her actual leap birthdays, she would only be six years old.
“Nagce-celebrate ako pero 28 or March 1. Gusto kong i-embrace pa rin yung pagiging February baby ko, pero March 1 kasi nadadagdagan ‘yung age ko,” she said.
According to a lawyer, leap year babies turn a year older every March 1 during years without February 29.
“Under the law sa Civil Code, 365 days ‘yun ‘yung kina-count for legal age. Sa years na walang Feb. 29, March 1 ‘yung birthday niyo. Mag-e-age pa rin sila normally. So kung ano ‘yung mga karapatan mo na ma-achieve mo na ‘pag 18 ka, makukuha mo pa rin 18 year,” Atty. Aloysius Bresnan said.
In some countries, superstitions were observed during leap days.
In the United Kingdom, it is a tradition for women to propose to their partners every February 19, while in Scotland, there is a belief that those born on February 29 were unlucky.
Greeks avoid marriage in leap years, believing that the marriage may end in divorce. —Carby Basina/NB, GMA Integrated News
