Boy, 10, dies after circumcision in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is ready to conduct an autopsy on a 10-year-old boy who died on Saturday after he was circumcised by a midwife in Tondo, Manila.

“We will investigate by doing an autopsy first,” NBI Director Jaime Santiago told GMA News on Tuesday after the parents of the child went to the bureau’s office in Pasay seeking help.

“We need the autopsy to determine the cause of death and whether someone should be punished. We will subpoena the suspect to know what procedure was done,” Santiago added.

Marjorie San Agustin, 29, brought her son to Clarin’s Lying-In and Medical Clinic in Barangay 146 for circumcision, a common practice considered as a rite of passage for boys.

“Circumcision was the only thing we needed before he started school again,” San Agustin told reporters. “But I never got to bring him home because he’s already dead.”

Initial probe revealed that a midwife circumcised the boy, administering him with 20 cc of anesthesia.

After the procedure, reports said the child suffered seizures, his skin turned black and he struggled to breathe.

He was rushed to the Tondo Medical Center where doctors pronounced him dead.

According to Barangay 146 Chairman Bernabe Cruz, the midwife had been arrested by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group two years ago for impersonating a doctor. — Ghio Ong