“This is the first time where the process becomes more complicated because the COA ruled that Mutawiff fee paid by pilgrims is public fund and must go through regular process like other government funds. Our problem is that we are racing against time as the portal (of the Hajj Ministry) will soon be closing.”
— NCMF OIC Secretary Michael Mangampo Mamukid
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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech & Digital News
(SDN) March 20, 2024 — Filipio pilgrims’ process of payments for Mutawiff has become complicated.
Thanks but no thanks to the declaration the Commission on Audit (COA) made regarding the Hajj fee from pilgrims, saying the payments once deposited to a government bank are considered “public funds”.
National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Officer-in-Charge-Secretary Michael M. Mamukid raised what he called “complexity” with Department of the Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
Aside from the DBM, he also appealed to other government agencies involved in the NCMF’s Hajj operation for their understanding and help Filipino pilgrims in their journey of a lifetime.
He said this the first instance this mode of payment is being implemented and it comes when the window for the processing of Hajj fees is at a very crucial period.
The OIC of the NCMF, which handles and manages the Philippine Hajj mission’s intending pilgrims, had a chance to meet and speak with the DBM chief during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, March 19.
“I reported to Secretary Amenah Pangandaman about the complexity of this year’s payment process through Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)-Bureau of Treasury (BOT)-Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-DBM-NCMF-AlRajhi Bank-portal,” Mamukid told SDN – SciTech & Digital News.
Mamukid said the window for payment expires on March 22, the deadline for Mutawiff fee. And the portal for payment closes, after which none will be allowed anymore.
It can be recalled that the COA through its representatives in the House of Representatives (HOR) series of public hearings on the various complaints made by many of the 7,000 Filipino pilgrims in 2023 Hajj Mission ruled that the Mutawiff fund belongs to public funds.
New payment process for Mutawiff fee so unlike previous years
As a result, the process of payments to be made this year by registered pilgrims with the NCMF has become way too roundabout, raising the possibility the Philippines may not catch the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah cutoff date for sending the collected fees to Al-Rajhi Bank.
Mamukid, one of the eight commissioners of the NCMF, said the new payment process is “unlike during the previous years when the payment passed through Philippine National Bank (PNB) to Al-Rahji Bank portal.”
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“This is the first time where the process becomes more complicated because the COA ruled that Mutawiff fee paid by pilgrims is public fund and must go through regular process like other government funds. That is why it will take a long time before the money reaches Saudi Arabia. Our problem is that we are racing against time as the portal (of the Hajj Ministry) will soon be closing.”
It seems the new process of paying Mutawiff fee will continue, unless the national government intervenes, at least just for this 2024 Hajj Mission.
Pangandaman indicated to the NCMF official that much.
“She (DBM chief) said that they can’t relax the procedure because it is part of government regulation.”
Mamukid also made the request that it no longer passes through the DILG because the process has become too complicated. “But she did not approve because COA might disallow it.”
So, the NCMF OIC said, “That is why this year’s pilgrimage is very challenging.”
The NCMF was under the Office of the President (OP) before, but it was transferred to the DILG’s oversight before the election of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. (/)