A row of boys lying on newsprint-covered tables howl in pain and grit their teeth as part of 'circumcision season' in the Philippines, when thousands of youngsters suffer through the procedure en masse.
The removal of foreskins is a centuries-old rite of passage to adulthood in the country, which has one of the highest rates of male circumcision in the world.
Yet even as circumcision comes under increasing scrutiny around the world, with critics branding it 'child abuse', it is rarely questioned in the Philippines and boys face tremendous pressure to undergo the procedure.
Every year, thousands of pre-teens from poor families go through the operation for free at government or community-sponsored clinics.
