Guinness World Records Rejects Philippines' Mass 'Circumcision Party'

Apparently, when it comes to circumcision parties, size doesn't matter.

Guinness World Records officials distanced themselves from an event in the Philippines on May 7 that claimed to set the world record for most circumcisions.

Public health officials claimed that more than 1,500 boys underwent the free surgery in a sports stadium in the city of Marikina. Circumcision is a rite of passage for preteen boys in the Philippines.

But Guinness officials said Monday they wouldn't consider the so-called "circumcision party" for their record book.

"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," spokeswoman Jamie Panas 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."

She added that Guinness has never had a record for mass circumcisions.

Besides Marikina officials' pursuit for performing the most circumcisions, they had also said they wanted a place in history by creating a new record for the most number of people to attend a mass circumcision.

"We applied to 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," said Vice Mayor Jose Fabian Cadiz.

Despite Guinness' concern that the "circumcision party" might lead to unsafe conditions, officials from the city organized it as a safe alternative to surgeries which are sometimes performed by non-doctors.

They also touted the event as a way for poor families to save money for the procedure which often costs $40 in local private hospitals.

Marikina -- a shoemaking center in the country -- had a moment in the limelight in 2002 when Guinness officials recognized that the city had created what was then the world's biggest pair of shoes.