NCMF Issues Commission En Banc Resolution No. 17 declaring Hajj 2023 operation “successful”, which in effect absolves those involved in running the pilgrimage free from guilt and blame.
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By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News
(SDN) — Social media platforms, among them Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, blogs, etc., in all the power, usefulness, and reach they have can be both a force for good and bad.
Social media’s impact in the digital era cannot be brushed off, it’s all over people’s life; and it can either be a boon or a bane for society, business, organizations, and/or individuals. Even the high and the mighty are not spared from social media’s venom.
Anyone following on social media the goings on concerning the over 7,000 Filipino pilgrims during and after Hajj 2023 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, would have read and known a litany of toxic posts condemning the NCMF, its leadership headed by Secretary/CEO Guiling “Gene” A. Mamondiong, and particularly those who were directly involved in the Philippine Hajj Mission operation in the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Some have even called for the privatization of the Hajj operation, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has its own Bangsamoro Pilgrimage Authority (BARMM-BPA) and is angling to takeover or at least co-operate the Muslim Filipinos’ pilgrimage.
Grievances aired on social media by “regular paying pilgrims” and some of their relatives about accommodation, food, and transportation have reached a crescendo level, deafening words of condemnation that would have given anyone a nightmare. No questions about it, it was plain to see the Filipino pilgrims have basis for their going ballistics.
Senator Robinhood “Abdul Aziz” Padilla had noted that hearings were conducted in the Senate last year over related issues. Problem was that no one, he said, came forward to stand witness against the NCMF and its leadership.
So, the crucifixion (to borrow a term from those who used this capital punishment such as the Persians, Carthaginians, and Romans) of the NCMF and its concerned officials continued and reached the ears of the House of Representatives and the Parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Would it reach presidential ears and warrant an investigation, or at least summon those whose names were mentioned by complaining pilgrims and non-pilgrims?
We can only guess.
In relation with these various issues on the Filipino pilgrims’ performance of their religious obligation and the venomous issues that arose this year, the NCMF on August 14 issued Resolution No. 17, Series of 2023, titled: “An En Banc Resolution Declaring 2023 Hajj Operations Successful Compared to Previous Hajj Missions and in View of the Innovative Measures Instituted to Address Recurring Problems and based on the Result of the Customer Satisfactions (CSAT) Survey Administered to the Pilgrims and Sheikhs in Saudi Arabia”.
The three-page En banc resolution of the Commission concluded as such:
“NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission RESOLVES as it is hereby RESOLVED, to commend the Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (BPE) on the conduct of the 2023 Hajj Operations. RESOLVED FURTHER that the Commission En Banc declares the 2023 Philippine Hajj Mission a success taking into consideration the foregoing efforts and innovations of the Commission, the (BPE), and the Office of the Hajj Attaché, in coordination with the Jeddah Consulate and the Riyadh Philippine Embassy. RESOLVED FINALLY that the (BPE) undertake measures to ensure that issues and problems similar to what transpired in the 2023 Hajj be duly addressed and avoided for Hajj 2024 onwards. Specifically, that the provisions of Hajj Manual BE REVISITED AND AMENDED incorporating the inputs of the Commission En Banc, the stakeholders particularly those from the pilgrims and Sheikhs, and the members comprising the Hajj Working Groups as well as the Advance, Supervisory, and Medical Group.” (Underscoring by NCMF)
Commissioners Mando; Datu Ras S. Lidasan, Jr.; Jamal M. Munib; Dalisay N. Macadawan; Michael M. Mamukid; Samer M. Allong; Ismael V. Mastura; Anna Kharima B. Mindalano-Lao, Mamondiong (En Banc Chairman) signed the resolution and certified true and correct by BPE OIC and ED Lidasan.
Meanwhile, BPE OIC Lidasan apparently acknowledged what he called “shortcomings and difficulties” that Hajj pilgrims from the Philippines experienced in the five-day pilgrimage that started on June 26.
He expressed apologies publicly during the news media briefing at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on August 24.
BPE OIC Lidasan then later sent via text message his official statement to SDN — SciTech and Digital News affirming what he said.
“In behalf of the Commission, I would like to apologize for the shortcomings and difficulties the entire Philippine Hajj delegation experienced in Saudi Arabia. The NCMF officials also went through the same experience and difficulties,” he pointed out.
The NCMF official, who was a part of the Filipino pilgrims group invited and hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud for the pilgrimage indicated in his statement the NCMF was mindful of the issues and concerns regular pilgrims voiced out.
“We have consolidated and collated all comments, inputs and criticisms from our stakeholders, and we will definitely address them come Hajj 2024. We consider these inputs as challenges, and we believe that every Hujjah (pilgrim) deserves no less than the best Hajj experience,” he continued.
NCMF official cites innovations in Hajj 2023
On the other hand, the NCMF, apparently, won’t shy away from any inquiry on its performance during Hajj 2023.
“We also welcome any congressional inquiry in order for the Commission to have the opportunity to present data and information regarding the Hajj 2023 and at the same time also seek support in strengthening the Hajj. At the end of the day, it will be the Hujjah who will benefit from all these undertakings and activities.”
An NCMF official who refused to be identified, after watching on social media the press briefing, asked, “What is their basis for declaring the 2023 Hajj operation a success? Nine commissioners against 7,000 pilgrims?
It seems the answer lies in what the NCMF said were reforms introduced this year.
Mando, in the same media briefing, highlighted what he said were “noteworthy developments” in Hajj 2023, among them the provision for Hajj Special Lanes at the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), advance issuance of Hajj visas, introduction of direct flights from Mindanao to Madinah, Saudi Arabia (with stopover in Manila), e-Hajj visa issuance via electronic processing, no regular paying pilgrims stranded in Manila, among other innovations.
Whether the Commission En Banc’s resolution is acceptable to the pilgrims who felt aggrieved and shortchanged, the planned or proposed inquiry called for by Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong and Lanao del Sur 2nd District Rep. Yasser Alonto Balindong would gain traction is a matter for the House of Representatives.
In the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) 14 Members of Parliament (MPs) authored Resolution No. 375 on August 14, “urging the Bangsamoro Parliament to conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation on the serious irregularities during the 2023 Hajj pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to direct the Bangsamoro Pilgrimage Authority to develop policy recommendations on the matter and endorse the same to the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum”.
Can affected pilgrims in and out of the BARMM count on the Bangsamoro Parliament to help them get what is due them like justice and fairness for whatever grievances they were complaining about? (✓)