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John Unson - Philstar.com
May 15, 2026 | 7:14pm
The 305 Moro boys circumcised free during outreach missions this second week of May 2026 in Ligawasan town, Cotabato, by Bangsamoro regional officials and the provincial governor come from underprivileged families in the area.
Photo courtesy of Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY — Another group of Moro boys received free circumcision free this week in three areas of Ligawasan town, Cotabato, through outreach programs organized by the Bangsamoro parliament and the provincial governor's office.
Esmael Mama, mayor of Ligawasan town in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area of Cotabato, said on Friday, May 15, that the 305 grade school boys from marginalized Moro families benefited from the joint "Oplan Tuli" program.
The outreach organized by Bangsamoro regional lawmaker Kadil Sinolinding Jr., Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua and Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza was carried out by municipal health officials and medical personnel. According to local authorities, 91 boys were circumcised in Kabasalan, 68 in Buliok and 146 in Bulol during the sessions held on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
“Me and the parents of these children are grateful to the officials who cooperated in facilitating their circumcision for free,” Mama said.
The outreach missions in the three Ligawasan barangays this week were supported by medics from the Deseret Surgimed Hospital in Kabacan town in Cotabato, employees from the Ministry of Health Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and various cause-oriented groups. Regional parliament member Sinolinding, a physician ophthalmologist, who also manages the MoH-BARMM in a concurrent capacity, led the initiative.
Officials from his office and local executives confirmed on Friday that, as of Wednesday, the public service team had circumcised a total 603 boys from Muslim, Christian and non-Moro indigenous families in Ligawasan and seven other towns in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area since the second week of April.
“They took advantage of the summer break of children from schools in our towns to maximize their Oplan Tuli. Hundreds of school boys in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area on vacation got circumcised absolutely free,” Mayor Norman Inalang of Kapalawan, said.
Ligawasan and Kapalawan are among the eight Bangsamoro towns in the Special Geographic Area, created more than a year ago, covering 63 barangays that originally belonged to municipalities in Cotabato province which is under Region 12.
