Nearly 500 boys from poor families received free circumcision and medical care during a three-day BARMM medical mission in Kapalawan. (Photo: John Unson)
KAPALAWAN, Cotabato Province โ Nearly 500 boys from poor Moro and non-Moro indigenous families received free circumcisions during a three-day medical mission in remote villages in Kapalawan town, local officials said Thursday.
The office of Bangsamoro MP Kadil Sinolinding Jr., the community affairs team of Deseret Surgimed Hospital in Kabacan, Cotabato, and volunteers from several civic groups partnered to organize the humanitarian campaign, held from April 28 to April 30 in the villages of Kibayao, Manarapan, and Tupig.
The program, locally known as โOplan Tuli,โ provided free circumcisions to about 497 boys, according to organizers. The mission also received support from the Ministry of Health of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf Macacua and Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliรฑo-Mendoza.
BARMM administratively governs Kapalawan, one of eight newly created municipalities under the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area, which remains geographically within Cotabato Province in Region 12.
Staff members from Mr. Sinolindingโs office in the Bangsamoro Parliament said the assistance extended by Mr. Macacua and Ms. Taliรฑo-Mendoza helped ensure the success of the outreach mission in the underserved communities.
Although the eight Bangsamoro towns are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Cotabato provincial government, Ms. Taliรฑo-Mendoza has continued to work closely with BARMM officials in delivering services to residents in the area. The governor also serves as chairperson of the Regional Development Council in Region 12.
Mr. Sinolinding, a physician and ophthalmologist who currently heads BARMMโs Ministry of Health, also led free eye consultations during the mission. Organizers said doctors examined at least 235 residents suffering from cataracts, pterygium, and other eye conditions, and Mr. Sinolinding himself scheduled several patients for treatment.
Provincial officials and Bangsamoro leaders described the outreach effort as part of broader cooperation between local governments and BARMM authorities in promoting public health and sustaining peace initiatives in communities affected by decades of conflict in Mindanao.
Ms. Taliรฑo-Mendoza, who has long supported the governmentโs peace process with both the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has maintained working ties with BARMM leaders despite the transfer of the Special Geographic Area towns to the autonomous region.
The latest medical mission followed a similar series of outreach activities conducted two weeks earlier. During that mission, doctors examined 267 boys from Kabacan, Carmen, Kidapawan City, and nearby Bangsamoro communities, and BARMM health officials, Deseret Surgimed Hospital, and local government supporters provided free circumcisions.
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