TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan (PIA) - - Five Hundred Forty-Five young boys availed of the free Operation Tuli (circumcision) of the Cagayan United Doctors Medical Center (CUDMC) conducted during the three consecutive Sundays of May as part of its first anniversary month-long celebration.

CUDMC’s Dr. Allan Reyes, Operation Tuli program chair, said circumcision is now part of our culture unlike in other countries. If you are circumcised you have a feeling of good hygiene,” he added.

Meanwhile, Acting Chief Operations Officer Jonathan Barangan said they required patients to pre-register to avoid crowds as CUDMC is strictly observing health protocols to reduce the risk of Covid-19 while at the hospital.

He said the three consecutive Sundays started on May 15 have recorded 141 who availed of the Operation Tuli, 191 on the 2nd Sunday, and 213 on the 3rd Sunday. 

“I did not expect that more than 500 individuals will come on this last day of Operation Tuli. Those walk-in patients who will not be accommodated will have soon another activity like this, but anyway, thank you for patronizing CUDMC,” Barangan said.

Barangan said those operations are handled by their medical professionals conducting actual circumcision procedures as he expressed his gratitude to the hardworking physicians and staff led by Dr. Allan Reyes.

On the other hand, guardians expressed their gratitude to CUDMC for having the first hospital that opened its doors for operation tuli this summer after two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Thank you CUDMC for the operation tuli for my nephew, CUDMC napaka-generous talaga, libre na un tuli my kasama pang libreng gamot at meryenda (CUDMC is very generous indeed, the circumcision is free plus free medicines and snacks),” Suzet Adduru guardian of Simon Andrew Popanes, 13.

Irene Quintos of Tuguegarao City also said, “the venue (Medical Arts Complex) is very conducive, all of their equipment are brand-new and I feel I am in a hotel while waiting for my son’s circumcision turn.”

“I am confident that the circumcision is handled by CUDMC medical professionals and I don’t want to happen to a 13-year-old boy who bled to death after undergoing a circumcision procedure in Lucena, Quezon,” Quintos added.

Fire Officers Teresita Yague and Sherwin Tabago of the Bureau of Fire Protection Tuguegarao conducted a Fire Safety Awareness seminar for parents while waiting for their children’s circumcision.

Outgoing councilor Atty. Raymund "Mun" Guzman, the committee chair of City Risk Reduction on Disaster Response Management also shared the importance of Disaster and Earthquake Drill preparedness.

The Rotary Club of Tuguegarao Rainbow also partnered with the CUDMC on the 3rd Sunday as part of its community service. (OTB/ADS PIA Cagayan)