MANILA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Mothers in the Philippine capital of Metro Manila now have a bank to deposit and withdraw not money but breast milk, according to local media Friday.

    The country's first community milk bank was opened on Friday to help sick newborn babies who are too weak to suck breasts or mothers who can't immediately breastfeed their children.

    Some 200 mothers donated at least five ounces of breast milk at Guadalupe Nuevo Barangay Hall in the capital at the bank's opening day. The breast milk was collected using a manual breast pump for at least 15 minutes per donator.

    Medela, a supplier of post-natal care equipment, donated 10 manual breast pumps worth 1,800 pesos (40 U.S. dollars) each, local news network GMA News said.

    According to the network, the milk collected from each mother would be stored in a sterilized container, transferred to a cooler, and sent to a local hospital.

    The hospital maintains a milk bank which has pasteurizing equipment and three freezers that can preserve the milk for up to six months.

    Senator Pia S. Cayetano, who led the launching, said the initiative aims to revive the dying practice of breastfeeding.

    "The idea is to tell moms who are breastfeeding to take it a step forward, to help other moms who cannot immediately breastfeed," Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, was quoted as saying.

    Cayetano has drafted a bill to require the establishment of human milk banks in hospitals to provide maternity services. The bill has passed the third and final reading in the Senate.