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- EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech & Digital News
MANILA (SDN) — Less than 5,000 Filipinos would be able to go perform this year’s pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, as the ehajj.ph portal for Filipino pilgrims will soon close.
“Close” means the digital portal will no longer accept applications for the forthcoming 2024 Philippine Mission Delegation, especially that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Arab kingdom may soon close the door to pilgrims around the world.
Over a million pilgrims from every country of the world are expected to assemble in Makkah, Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina, and back to Makkah for the five days of intense worship, which is obligatory on every adult Muslim who has the financial means, physically and mentally able.
The digital Hajj platform is being managed solely by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) now headed by Secretary Sabuddin N. Abdurahim, a “sheikh” or pilgrims’ leader/guide, of Tawi-Tawi, one of the six provinces comprising the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Abdurahim issued Hajj Advisory No 11 — 2024 on April 2, giving updates on the status of the Commission’s hajj operation.
The Tawi-Tawi native said as of April 2, the Commission has received 7,690 applications, with the applications of 5,390 intending pilgrims already approved and issued Order of Payments.
“If you have not yet received your Order of Payments, please contact our Hajj Registration and Processing Centers (HRPCs) in your areas for further assistance.
He said the total number of pilgrims who already paid their Mutawiff stands at 3,845.
The NCMF official let it be known to pilgrims and accredited sheikhs that a limit has been made on the total number of paid pilgrims.
“Once we reach the Commission’s quota of 4,500 paid pilgrims, the ehajj.ph will be closed and no further applications will be approved. After this point, the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP, Commonwealth Branch) will no longer accept payments for the Hajj 2024,” he emphasizes.
He concluded the Hajj Advisory by encouraging intending pilgrims to contact the NCMF if they have any questions.
Meanwhile, over in the BARMM in Cotabato City, Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Haj Murad” Ebrahim’s regional government has been knocking on the doors of the National Government to allow it to participate in the annual pilgrimage operation separate from the NCMF.
This subject matter is still in the agenda of the National Government and Bangsamoro Government Inter-Governmental Relations Body (IGRB). But any decision is still pending.
But all is not lost. Republic Act No. 11054, or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), amended Republic Act No. 9997, the law that created NCMF, allowing the Bangsamoro Government to process pilgrims residing in the region.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia presently recognizes the NCMF as the sole entity authorized to process and transact with the Hajj ministry on matters of the pilgrimage.
Legally, the BARMM’s Bangsamoro Pilgrimage Authority (BPA) may, based on R.A. No. 11054, process pilgrims residing in the region.
But its pilgrims still have to go through the NCMF, per an information from a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official, who cited a Note Verbale from the Saudi Government during one of the public investigations being conducted by the House of Representatives on the highly problematic 2023 Philippine Hajj operation.
NMCF-NCR, NCMF-North Luzon, others welcomed new secretary’s appointment
Another public hearing, the fifth edition, by the House Committee on Public Accounts is still in the pipeline per announcement during the last hearing at the Batasang Pambansa.
Congress leaders have been asking the NCMF to give the Committee on Public Accounts a copy of the “Mother Contract/Agreement” for Hajj 2022, 2023, and 2024 between the Saudi government and the Philippine government through the NCMF.
The House leaders have also asked the NCMF to furnish the public hearing details of the “additional charges” in the Mutawiff included in the Schedule of Payments of 2024 Hajj to see whether they really came from the Hajj ministry.
Accredited sheikhs in Lanao del Sur have earlier asked then NCMF Officer-in-Charge Com. Michael M. Mamukid to remove the additional charges.
But before he could act, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed Abdurahim to the NCMF.
As this developed, NCMF-National Capital Region Regional Director Dr. Dimapuno A. Datu-Ramos, NCMF-North Luzon Regional Director Atty. Raihanah Sarah T. Macarimpas, and other directors welcomed the appointment of Abdurahim to the NCMF.
Outside observers also lauded his appointment, being that he is well-versed with the pilgrimage as he is a principal stakeholder having led many pilgrims annually to Saudi Arabia.
To be fair, Abdurahim assumed his post when the government pilgrimage is already in full swing and the acceptance of pilgrims’ registration had already lapsed.
Nevertheless, the observers want the new head of the Commission to at least be able to mitigate any fall out in the 2024 Philippine operation, knowing that any repetition of the 2023 pilgrimage fiasco would again invite Congress to conduct more public investigations.
This despite Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Mohammad Khalid Q. Dimaporo declaring his dislike for the proceedings.
“First of all, I would like to say that as chairman of (Committee on) Muslim Affairs and ranking member of the 19th Congress, we are sick and tired of the investigations for the hajj,” the Dimaporo scion said.
He made the statement during a recent press conference at the NCMF Central Office, Jocfer Building, Quezon City. (♤)