American troopers, armed with medical equipment, on Sunday entered the remote village of Kadigasan here and circumcised six Moro males.
“Residents here, all Muslims, have not seen a doctor since birth and the coming of RP-US Balikatan outreach program was warmly welcomed,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson, told the Inquirer.
Ando said the village was far from the town centers where government and private hospitals were located. He pointed out that because the farmers were poor and the village isolated, they had never visited a doctor for their health concerns.
“They are more concerned with what to eat at the end of the day than having their health checked by physicians,” he said.
As to the six males, aged 40 years old and above, Ando said their delayed circumcision was “mainly due to poverty and unavailability of doctors to do the job.”
He said some of the male patients claimed that they were already circumcised but the procedure was improperly done. “They want the circumcision corrected so they came forward,” he said.
Kadigasan is accessible only by motorcycle or by horse. “Now medical services were brought to their doorstep,” Ando said.
He said armed conflict since the 1970s had prevented the poor Muslim population in far-flung villages from taking care of their health.
The RP-US medical services were brought to various villages in the area of responsibility of the 6th Infantry Division, said Army Maj. Gen. Reymundo Ferrer, 6th ID commanding general.
Similar activities were also undertaken the other day in Bagoingend, Pikit, North Cotabato
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