Featured image above shows Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz (center)during 2025 Hajj reception in Mina for dignitaries and lucky pilgrims. (Credit: Saudi Gazette via NCMF)
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-PvD
(SDN) — Sheikh Sabuddin N. Abdurahim, a native of Tawi-Tawi, Bangsamoro region, is being recommended for reappointment as head — secretary/CEO — of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).
The recommendation comes from an official of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), comprised of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi; the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi; and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) made of eight new municipalities carved out of the province of North Cotabato.
Created through Republic Act No. 9997 in 2010, the NCMF has just concluded the official performance of the Philippine Hajj Mission with 5,000 Filipino pilgrims in the holy sites in Mecca, Arafah, Muzdalifah, and Mina in the six-day pilgrimage proper on June 4 to 9. Shortly, the NCMF-managed pilgrims will start streaming back to Manila to what could be a rousing welcome from their respective families and friends.
Read: Never been done at OMA, and NCMF before: early visa, passport distribution before pilgrims’ flights
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. appointed Abdurahim in April 2024 to head the Muslim commission, which at that time was still reeling from scandalous and anomalous handling of the 2022 and 2023 Philippine Hajj operations as borne by testimonies during four public hearings conducted by the House of Representatives Committees on Public Accountability and Muslim Affairs.
After the congressional hearings, the accountability committee was said to have issued a resolution that recommended prosecution for those NCMF officials — and should be hopefully identified — involved in the 2022 and 2023 pilgrimage fiasco. But so far, the said resolution has not been made public yet, if there truly is.
It seems the ascension of Abdurahim, himself a Filipino “sheikh” (leader or guardian of pilgrims to Mecca), brought a whole new character to the NCMF as he hit the ground running by instituting much-needed reforms at the Commission that past administrations since the time of the now-defunct Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) to the NCMF today failed to accomplish.
The reforms that the son of Tawi-Tawi put in place at the Commission were the reasons or factors that prompted Deputy Minister Eddie Alih of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILF) to recommend Abdurahim’s reappointment to the President.
“We appeal to His Excellency President Bongbong Marcos to reappoint Sheikh Sabuddin N. Abdurahim as Secretary of the National Commission for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF). He is the first Tawi-Tawian to have been appointed to this position,” the official of the MILG says in a post on social media.
He cited the incumbent top NCMF official’s acts that to him earned a reappointment.
“The Commission, in 2022 Hajj, refunded the pilgrims of ₱1,200 for Moassassa and VAT, and US$18 for Insurance Warranty; in 2023, the pilgrims received ₱3,960 for camp fees and VAT; and in 2024, the pilgrims were refunded ₱7,500 for camp fee differentials.
He also noted that Abdurahim is this year’s “ameerul hajj” (head of Hajj mission), pointing out that he (Abdurahim) has a hands-on management style, apparently indicating that immerses himself with the NCMF-assisted pilgrims aimed at a “memorable, satisfying, and rewarding experience” and is “down to earth, hardworking, dedicated, committed, and approachable.”
The BARMM official implored the President to reappoint Abdurahim, who is still in Saudi Arabia to personally see to the welfare of the Mecca pilgrims from the Philippines.
Former NCMF Finance head Abel Macarimpas welcomed the endorsement, saying Secretary Abdurahim deserves a reappointment. His two years term as secretary expires in March 2026, but his being commissioner still has over two years more.
Commissioners of the NCMF have four years term while the secretary is for two years; both positions with option for reappointment by the President.
It can be recalled that five BARMM governors recommended to Marcos the appointment of Abdurahim to the NCMF. (√)