Marikina ‘Mega Tule’ (Mass Circumcision) Rejected by Guinness World Records

A mass circumcision in Marikina last Saturday has been rejected by Guinness World Records. The “circumcision party” or “mega tule” was an attempt to get into the record books by for having the most number of participants in a surgical procedure.

Around 1,500 pre-adolescent boys participated in the mass circumcision organized by the city government of Marikina to promote safe circumcision. The medical procedure was offered for free to poor families who would otherwise have to shell out quite a sum in hospitals.

“We applied for the Guinness Book of World Records and we are recording everything so we can send all the data to them and hopefully it will be recognized,” Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz said. It’s the latest attempt of Marikina, just outside Manila, to get into the Guinness Book of World records after succeeding several years ago with the biggest pair of shoes. The city has since lost that record. Marikina is known in the Philippines as the shoe-making capital of the country.

However, Guinness World Records officials have rejected the new record attempt. For one thing, they said Guinness has never had a record for mass circumcisions. For another, the organization refuses to recognize “the number of medical procedures within a set period of time or in a mass group due to hygiene considerations and risks.”

“Guinness World Records does not recognize the number of medical procedures within a set period of time or in a mass group due to hygiene considerations and risks,” a spokeswoman told AOL News. “Medical procedures should be undertaken only on the advice of a doctor and the patients’ welfare should always be the primary concern.”

Circumcision is a rite of passage for teenage boys in the Philippines. Pre-teen boys usually undergo the procedure in the summer months between March and April during the school break. Most procedures are done in hospitals but many circumcisions in the provinces are done by non-medical personnel.

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