What we are covering here:
- Quota of 5,000 for Filipino pilgrims already reached; no more addition
- Strictly no Hajj visa for pilgrims paying Mutawiff Fees online to Hajj Ministry
- Pilgrims’ Camp Slots in Mina and Arafa limited to 5,000 people
- “Tora-tora” pilgrims not allowed to join NCMF contracted camp spaces
- NCMF respects free choice of travel agencies, airlines; not involve in price of two-way plane fare
- 16 travel agencies urged by BPE to discuss among themselves the number of their Hajj passengers in what airlines
- No ticket to be issued to pilgrims without confirmed visa
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-N5u
- EDD K. USMAN | X (Twitter): @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 |Facebook: SDN – SciTech & Digital News
QUEZON CITY, March 22, 2025 (SDN) — The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has already filled up the quota of 5,000 paid intending pilgrims for 2025 Hajj, the Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
It means the Commission will no longer accept pilgrims in excess of the number that Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah allocated for the Philippines.
NCMF Secretary/CEO Sheikh Sabuddin N. Abdurahim relayed this to SDN – SciTech & Digital News during the Grand Iftar the Commission tendered on March 19 for its valued partners at Dusit Thani Manila Hotel, Makati City, National Capital Region.
SDN sought confirmation on the cut-off number from Abdurahim, a native of Tawi-Tawi, one of the component provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). He firmly confirmed the NCMF will no longer accept anyone in excess of the Saudi-granted number.
“We reached the number of 5,000 pilgrims already,” he says, emphasizing that the NCMF has been hammering this down repeatedly in meetings with “sheikhs” (pilgrims’ guardians/leaders), that the Commission will not accept any excess pilgrims.
“We have to uphold the quota,” the NCMF head points out, indicating that it is not good to change policy.
Abdurahim said those who are not accommodated this year are advised to plan for next year’s pilgrimage.
“We can no longer accommodate anyone. We have to follow the limit on the number of pilgrims,” he underscores, apparently referencing that NCMF-contracted camp spaces in Mina and Arafa are only good for 5,000 pilgrims.
As head of the Commission Abdurahim is automatically this year’s “ameerul hajj” (head of Philippine Hajj Mission) by operation of law, Republic Act No. 9997, the law that created the NCMF in February 2010.
This comes as the NCMF through its Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (BPE) headed by Director Rahmatol M. Mamukid has been issuing advising pilgrims to immediately pay their Mutawiff Fees because of the limited number of camp spaces for the Filipinos.
Abdurahim, Mamukid and BPE staff were present in the five nationwide Hajj Awareness Program (HAP) seminars conducted this year for the accredited sheikhs and their pilgrims, telling them that once this year’s quota is reached, there will be no more additional pilgrims in excess of 5,000.
And this is what is being followed by the Commission now, especially that hotel rooms in Mecca and Madinah and tent spaces in Mina and Arafa to be paid for out of the Mutawiff fees — US$3,160 each pilgrim — are limited to the 5,000 pilgrims.
No plane ticket for pilgrims without confirmed visa for 2025 Hajj
In relation with this, Mamukid had issued Hajj Advisories such as on March 13 (BPE No. 2025-017), calling on sheikhs and intending pilgrims on the limited availability of camp slots in Mina and Arafa.
The BPE head said in the Hajj Advisory as he informed the public “that the limited slots for Mina and Arafa camps for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage are nearing full capacity.”
“To ensure we remain within our allocated quota of 5,000 pilgrims and to maintain orderly processing, all Landbank regional and provincial branches will no longer accept and process Hajj payments effective March 14, 2025,” Mamukid stresses in the advisory dated March 13.
On Friday, March 21, the BPE led by Mamukid convened a meeting at the Office of the Secretary (OSEC) Conference Room at the NCMF Central Office, Jocfer Building in Quezon City, with representatives of the 16 accredited travel agencies to finalize the bookings/reservations of pilgrims for their religious journey to Saudi Arabia, with the first flight planned for May 19.
“You heard the issues,” the BPE head tells the travel agents. “Let’s help each other. (Pilgrims) who go online will not be given visa.”
Obviously, the BPE received reports there are pilgrims through their sheikhs who are paying Mutawiff Fees to the Saudi Hajj ministry through online transactions.
Mamukid revealed that there are still around 1,000 people who have approached the BPE to join this year’s pilgrimage. “We would like to officially announce (we reached) the 5,000. There’s no more extension. It’s already close.”
The pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam, is obligatory to adult Muslims once in a lifetime for those who are financially, physically, and psychologically capable. It is a five to six days rituals in June this year — being conducted annually in Mecca, Mina, and Arafa, sites of the major Hajj rituals. It comes around three months after the holy month of Ramadan.
BPE staff Benjamin Abuat, Zainoden Usudan, and Lawrence Dilangalen took turns impressing upon the travel agents on the urgency of completing their arrangements for the pilgrims’ flights to Saudi Arabia, with Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airlines, Oman Air, and Philippine Airlines (PAL).
However, the travel agents explained that what’s holding the bookings is that two of the airlines have not yet given the price of their two-way tickets for the Manila-Jeddah/Madinah-Manila route.
They said while pilgrims’ sheikhs were already giving their payments for their plane fare, the travel agents said they were not accepting the money unless all the airlines have given their airfare rates.
One of the travel agents says: “What if we accept the payments and then, all of a sudden, the fare rate increases? The pilgrims will say ‘they have already paid’, why the increase then?”
Obviously, as the BPE noted, two airlines are still holding on to their ticket rates announcement — Saudia and PAL — which is having a domino effect on the other airlines that have already quoted their own rates for the religious journey.
“Consequently, partner travel agencies are unable to provide accurate (ticket) pricing to accredited sheikhs and pilgrims, leaving them in a state of limbo,” the pilgrimage bureau says after the meeting.
Meanwhile, SDN learned that BPE’s Acting Chief Abdulfoutouh Assiong for Endowment Administration Division, cited his trip to Indonesia, “exploring potential collaborations in endowment and Hajj-related projects.”
“While the direct collaboration with the Indonesian Endowment Education Fund proved limited due to its focus on Indonesian students, the success of Filipino students securing scholarships at the Indonesian University of Islamic Institute (UIII) offered a promising avenue for future partnerships,” Assiong points out.
Dilangalen, head of the BPE Electronic Database Processing (EDP) Division responsible for Hajj visa issuance, made clear those paying online, he will not provide them visa. “If they go to the airlines, they will not be given visa either.”
BPE responds to anonymous complaint on airlines ticket price — pilgrims have free choice
“We are mentioning those who have used online (payment) so that it will not be repeated,” points out Abuat, who is BPE’s head of Booking Monitoring Team as well as member of Sheikh Accreditation Committee and designated Hajj Refunds Special Disbursing officer.
“If they get tourist visa, they will not be able to get out of the airport (in Saudi Arabia). He added that if pilgrims with tourist visa can get out of the airport, they will have no tent, no hotel and will not be able to join the NCMF-processed pilgrims.
He said during the meeting at the OSEC that he already spoke with Saudia but there’s no airfare rates given yet as of March 22 although the Saudi flag carrier already released its Hajj flight schedules.
Abuat hastened to add that “we don’t have anything to do with airfare rates and payment for tickets.”
“If you are in excess of the 5,000, you will have no visa,” emphasizes Usudan, the chief of BPE’s Pilgrimage Operation Division.
The BPE officials noted the danger of not having tents in Mina and Arafa because of the heat, recalling that many died in the 2024 Hajj because they had no tents in Mina and Arafat
Mamukid let Abuat, Usudan, and Dilangalen explained the urgency of resolving the remaining issues on the pilgrims’ flight bookings as no tickets will be issued unless they have already been given their visa.
The pilgrimage bureau is eyeing April 18 to start issuing pilgrims’ Hajj visa with the first outbound flight tentatively set for May 19.
In relation with the issue on airfare rates, Malacañang relayed to the NCMF an complaint by an anonymous person, alleging that the NCMF had announced “masyado mataas iyong presyo ng plane ticket na inilabas nila last year 2024, around ($1,700) pero kung kami ang bibili ay aabot lang ito sa ($1,000).” (It is very expensive ($1,700) the price they announced in 2024 but if we buy on our own it will only be $1,000).
Mamukid pointed out in his reply that “we could not help expressing our displeasure of how some quarter of our citizenry misperceives the Hajj operation of the NCMF as the sole national government agency that administers the yearly Hajj for the Muslim Filipinos.”
He cited paragraph (e), Section II of Republic Act No. 9997, the NCMF Charter, that says the pilgrims have free choice of travel agency and airlines but must comply with the Hajj ministry’s prescribed arrival and departure from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mamukid said the law made it clear the pilgrims were given the choice — not the NCMF — on what the travel agency and airlines they wish to avail themselves of for their travel needs. (♡)
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The author
EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (@)