Republic of the Philippines

The Republic of the Philippines is noted for the bizarre practice of tuli.

(The following text or part of it is quoted from the free Wikipedia article Tuli (rite):)

Tulì is a Filipino rite of male circumcision. It has a long historical tradition and is considered an obligatory rite of passage for males; About 93 percent of Filipino males are circumcised. Boys who have not undergone the ritual are labelled supót and face ridicule from their peers.

Circumcision is not considered a religious rite as some four-fifths of Filipinos profess Roman Catholicism, which does not require it. Rather, circumcision is a social norm rooted in tradition that is followed by society at large. Most boys usually undergo the procedure not shortly after birth but prior to reaching puberty or before high school (around ages 10–14).

There exists two common ways of undergoing tuli: either the traditional way by a local village circumciser (known in Tagalog as having it done "de-pukpok") or having it done by medical practitioners in a hospital or clinical setting.

Traditional tuli is a dorsal slit of the foreskin.

History

The Philippine Islands were once governed from India. The Sultanate of Maguindanao introduced Islam into Mindanao in the 15th century. Thereafter Islam spread through the Philippines. Circumcision (khitan) is a religiously founded tradition in Islam, so it was introduced into the Philippine culture.

Ferdinand Magellan claimed the Philippine Islands for Spain in 1521. Spain's control of the Philippines lasted until the Spanish-American war of 1898. Roman Catholicism was introduced into the Philippines during the Spanish rule. Christians recognized the harmful and abusive nature of circumcision at the Council at Jerusalem in 49 A. D. and rejected the practice as unnecessary for Christians. The Roman Catholic Church further repudiated the practice by the Bull of Union with the Copts in 1492. Although in violation of Christian and Roman Catholic teachings, the Roman Catholic Church has turned a blind-eye to the practice of Tuli in the Philippine Islands, where it continues to flourish.

Psychological issues

Tuli was introduced into the Philippine Islands hundreds of years ago, when the Islands were controlled by Muslims. Ever since adult circumcised men have reenacted their own trauma on boys as reported by van der Kolk (1989).

Boyle & Ramos (2001) studied boys in the Philippine Islands who had undergone medical circumcision and others who had suffered the traditional "tuli" circumcision. Of the boys who had a medical circumcision, 51 percent exhibited symptoms of PTSD. Of the boys who had a tuli circumcision, 69 percent exhibited symptoms of PTSD.

Constitutional issues

The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines (1987) contains several provisions that may be violated by the practice of Tuli in the Philippines.

Article XIII

Article XIII provides enactment of measures to advance social justice and human dignity. Section 11 provides for the advancement of health. Section 17 provides for a Commission on Human Rights. Section 18 provides specific powers to the Commission to investigate human rights violations and to "[p]rovide appropriate legal measures for the protection of human rights of all persons within the Philippines." No such measures seem to have been enacted to protect boys from tuli.

Article XV

Article XV provides protection for the family. Section 3(2) provides the right of children to "special protection from all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development".

It appears that no one in the Republic of the Philippines has thought it appropriate to apply these constitutional provisions to the practice of tuli, except perhaps for Ramos & Boyle (2019), who briefly called for the application of human rights to Tuli. Local government actually sponsors mass circumcision events where a boy may receive a free tuli (MGM} at government expense.

Dorsal slit reversal

According to Goodwin (1990), the dorsal slit operation may be reversed by suturing the cut ends together, which restores the tissue to its normal position and recreates the foreskin:

One patient presented with a dorsal slit because of an acute infection during childhood. All of the normal preputial skin was still present and the patient wished the skin restored to a normal appearance. An inverted V-shaped incision was made where the dorsal slit had been and the two edges were sutured together, thus, reproducing the normal prepuce. The patient was delighted with the results. It could be that this might be an answer to some critics of circumcision. A simple dorsal slit can be performed in patients who have phimosis or severe recurrent infections. At a later date, if they wished restoration, reconstruction to the uncircumcised appearance would be simple.

Tuli deaths

• The Sun Star (2008) reported the death due to infection of an eleven-year-old boy, Gino Erojo, who ran a high fever and later died, although he had been admitted to hospital.

• GMA News reported the death due to bleeding on Tuesday, 22 March 2022 of a 13-year-old boy who continued to bleed after his circumcision at a free circumcision event on Saturday, 20 March 2022 in Lucena, Quezon, which had been sponsored by the Scout Royale Brotherhood. The boy was brought to hospital on Monday, but died the following day.

See also

• Adolescent and adult circumcision
• Boycott Made In The Philippines and Tuli
• Foreskin restoration
• Human rights
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Supot by Phil Giordano
• Supot - film

External links

• Cimato, Frank (31 March 2018). Foreskin restoration being done in PH, says doctor. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
• Pagtutuli: Circumcision in the Philippines., Circumstitions. Retrieved 2 July 2023.