Commissioner Michael M. Mamukid came in as OIC of the NCMF on March 8 only after contracts with Hajj providers in Saudi Arabia were already a fait accompli and the pilgrimage operation already in full swing 

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• EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech & Digital News

MANILA March 17, 2024 (SDN) — The Philippines 2024 Hajj Mission to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a go!

In fact, there are already 5,778 intending pilgrims who have already registered with the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) currently headed by Commissioner Michael M. Mamukid as Officer-in-Charge (OIC).

Mamukid relayed this information to SDN – SciTech and Digital News. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” D. Abalos, Jr. designated him on March 8 to take charge of the Commission.

He made the clarification as an accredited “sheikh” in Maguindanao del Sur has declined to bring pilgrims to Makkah this year because of what he described as “lack of time”. The “sheikh” (one who leads and guides pilgrims in the rituals) also said he was apprehensive that big problems may crop up again like in 2023. He’s been leading at least 20 pilgrims every Hajj season.

Related story: DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos Designates Com. Michael Mamukid as NCMF Officer-in-Charge

A Kalagan Moro ethnic community native of the Davao regions, Mamukid said that for this year’s Hajj, the pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah assigned 6,000 pilgrims’ quota for the Philippines.

The Hajj ministry assigns a quota of 1,000 pilgrims for every one million Muslim population of every country. It means the Philippines may send 10,000 pilgrims a year. Last year over 7,000 Filipinos performed the pilgrimage.

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“Hajj will push through as scheduled. As of now 5,778 pilgrims have already registered. We have 6,000 quota this year,” Mamukid tells SDN.

On March 14, the OIC of the NCMF issued a Hajj Advisory titled “Extension of the Online Registration Until March 2024”.

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“Acting on the request of intending pilgrims and accredited Sheikhs for the extension of the registrations due to unforeseeable circumstances which hindered them to register within the timeframe given by the Commission, the ehajj.ph portal will be open for online registration until March 20, 2024,” the advisory says.

Mamukid urged all pilgrims who intend to perform this year’s pilgrimage and accredited sheikhs who have complete travel documents to register online at https://ehajj.ph/ or any of the NCMF’s regional, provincial, Hajj Registration Processing Centers (HRPCs) located across the country.

He added that those already registered have until March 22 to pay the Mutawiff, which this year, per the NMCF, is US$3,360 (more or less around Php181,440, depending on the exchange rate).

In another advisory he issued on March 11, the NCMF OIC underscored the importance of complying timely with the deadlines to ensure the smooth processing of Hajj visas because of limited slots for this year’s pilgrimage.

The Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (NCMF-BPE) OIC, Executive Director Tahir S. Lidasan, Jr., since 2023 said in an advisory he issued on February 26 that registered pilgrims should get their Order of Payments from HRCPs nearest to them and pay with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

House probe on 2023 Hajj Mission fiasco may lead to criminal prosecution

Islam has five obligatory pillars, such as Shahaddah (Profession of Faith); Salat (5 Daily Prayers); Sawm (Ramadan Fasting); Zakat (Obligatory Charity); and Hajj (the Pilgrimage to Makkah), which the adult who are physically, mentally, and financially capable must perform once in a lifetime.

It can be recalled that last year’s handling of the pilgrimage operation by the NCMF led to pilgrims, their relatives, and some Moro government officials such as then Sulu Vice Governor Sakur Tan denouncing the agency and some of its officials involved in the Hajj for a number of problems relating to accommodation, food, and transportation during the Islamic religious activities.

Concerned NCMF officials denied any wrongdoing as they, instead, blamed Saudi Arabia’s Hajj providers whose jurisdiction were the Filipino pilgrims. SDN learned from a reliable source that the Saudi government did not like the NCMF putting the blame on their Hajj providers.

The problems led President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to suspend the then incumbent NCMF secretary for 90 days whose two-year term as head of the Commission expired before his suspension was over.

Moreover, Abalos has a list containing 20 or more names of NCMF officials and staff involved in last year’s Hajj operation who were also supposed to be meted suspension along with the former secretary. Outside observers were wondering if the DILG is still inclined to implement the supposed suspension on them.

The 2023 Hajj Mission fiasco also resulted in the House of Representatives’ Committee on Public Accounts to conduct a series of public hearings or investigations, inviting many of the agency’s officials to shed light on the problems. In its third hearing in January this year it mentioned another hearing in the pipeline. House leaders said they will come out with a report and recommendations after a final hearing.

In relation with this, House leaders have indicated in their statements during the hearings that NCMF officials found to have committed wrongdoings during the 2023 Hajj Mission that they could be liable for criminal charges.

Hopefully, Mamukid, a lawyer and a former director at the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) would be able to prevent a repeat of the 2023 anomalies.

In fairness, thpugh, he only assumed as OIC of the NCMF on March 8 after contracts for the Hajj this year were already signed by his predecessor, also an OIC, and the pilgrimage operation was apparently already in full swing. (✓)

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Featured image of Ka’aba at Masjidil Haram from Unsplash auto-cropped by WordPress.