'Doctor' who circumcised 10-year-old boy in Tondo clinic fake

The person who circumcised a 10-year-old boy at a lying-in clinic in Tondo, Manila was not a registered doctor, a barangay official said.

The suspect was also arrested in 2023 by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group after using the name and license number of a legitimate doctor whom she had worked with over 20 years ago, GMA Integrated News’ Jhomer Apresto reported on Unang Balita Wednesday.

However, the suspect was released on bail.

Barangay 146 Councilor Maria Christina Tipon said the suspect does not have any permit to operate.

“Walang request so ang alam namin hindi siya nag-ooperate. Ang alam namin licensed midwife siya pero doctor hindi,” she said.

(There was no request so what we know is she is not operating. What we know is that she is a licensed midwife but not a doctor.)

“Maging vigilant sila kung registered ba o ano ba. At saka ang dami-dami nating ospital na puwede nilang puntahan,” she added.

(They should be vigilant whether these doctors are registered or not. There are many hospitals that they can go to.)

Marjorie San Agustin told GMA Integrated News’ that she brought her son Nathan to the clinic at around 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 17. Before the circumcision, her son was administered anesthesia—reportedly in the amount of 20cc, as per the clinic staff.

"Wala na raw siyang nararamdaman. Nakita ko na po ang anak ko nang nanginginig po,” she said.

(He said he couldn’t feel anything anymore. I saw my son shivering.)

"Tapos po sabi ko po sa doktor kung normal lang po 'yan kasi po natatakot na po ako eh. Sabi po ng doktor, normal lang daw po 'yan kasi daw po groggy. Tapos na po, nagsisigaw na po, gano'n na po, nakikisigaw na po siya," Marjorie recounted.

(I asked the doctor if that was normal because I was getting scared. The doctor said it was normal because he was groggy. Then he started shaking and shouting.)

"Opo, nakadilat po, tapos wala na po sa sarili."

(Yes, his eyes were open, but he was already spaced out.)

Nathan was rushed to a nearby hospital, but attempts to revive him proved unsuccessful.

The grieving family reported the incident to the Manila Police District and later sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation to seek a thorough investigation.

"Iniimbestigahan namin, but then number one 'yan is the autopsy. Kung ano resulta ng autopsy, kung meron dapat managot or what," said NBI Director Jaime Santiago.

(We are investigating, but the autopsy is our top priority. Depending on the result, we’ll determine if someone should be held accountable.)

"Malaman namin 'yung cause ng death. Isu-subpoena namin siya kung anong procedure ang ginawa niya," he added.

(We need to determine the cause of death. We’ll issue a subpoena to the person to explain the procedure performed.)

According to the family, the result of the autopsy is expected in seven days.

The NBI also visited the clinic where the procedure took place.

GMA Integrated News also went to the location. After ringing the doorbell for several minutes, someone finally answered but said the person who performed the procedure was not there.—Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA Integrated News