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MANILA, January 17, 2026 (SDN) — Be warned!
Know that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has, so far, accredited only two travel agencies based in the Philippines to handle Umrah for Muslim Filipinos.
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Update, 5:35 p.m., January 29:
SDN – SciTech & Digital News learned today from Ustadhz Amer Hadji Noor that seven more travel agencies in the country have been given accreditation by the Saudi government for Filipinos’ Umrah (only) travel facilities.
The seven others are: Robelle Travel, Inc.; Maqam Hajj and Umrah Pilgrimage; Tuano Hajj and Umrah Travel and Tours; Marawi Umrah Travel and Tours; Al Madinah Munawarah Travel and Tours; and Philippine Al Rayah Travel Service; Travel Managers Int’l, Inc.; Ziyarah Travel Service.
His source is from the Saudi government’s Nusuk app.
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These travel agencies are the Labayk International Travel Corporation and the Travel Managers Int’l, Inc., which are both based in Manila, National Capital Region (NCR).
Ustadhz Amer relayed this information to SDN. He performed Umrah (the minor Hajj) in December 2025.
While in Saudi Arabia, he said he met with an official of the Hajj ministry who informed him of the only two travel agencies the Saudi government accredited, apparently having passed a stringent scrutiny.
He gave the information as he wanted Filipinos to be warned and be aware of the travel agents they may want to tap for their Umrah religious journey, which is optional for Muslim. However, millions from across the world perform it every year, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, which in 2026 is expected either on February 18 or 19. Its first day depends on the sighting of the crescent moon of Ramadan.
“There will be big trouble for Umrah travelers if they tap the services of travel agencies without accreditation from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” Noor, a former employee of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Philippines, told SDN.
“As of today, January 10, only two travel agencies are accredited by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.” He said January 14 (end Sha’ban month in the Hegirah calendar) was the last day of application for accreditation with the Hajj ministry.
He added that the ministry had already deactivated the Umrah Virtual Agent in the Philippines last December 21.
Thus, he said, only the Licensed Umrah External Agents have the capability to process and issue Umrah Visa within the new regulations set by the Hajj ministry with the “Nusuk” app.
“In line with this new KSA Ministry of Hajj and Umrah regulations, any intending person who plans to perform Umrah is advised to make sure that a Filipino travel agency which he/she intends to tap this 2026 is duly accredited by the Hajj ministry through its Nusuk Online System to avoid undesirable consequences,” he emphasized.
Read: SEC Order of Revocation on Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc.
As this developed, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines has “revoked” the Certificate of Incorporation of Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc. (SEC Company Registration No. 2022060057427-80) for “engaging in ultra vires acts in violation of Section 44 of R.A. No. 11232, otherwise known as the Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines, acts constituting serious misrepresentation as to what the corporation can do is doing to the great prejudice of or damage to the general public under Section 6(i)(2) of Presidential Decree No. 902-A, and willful (sec) violation of the lawful orders of the Commission under Section 158 (c) of the Revised Corporation Code.” (Note: according to Oxford Languages, “ultra vires” refers to “acting or done beyond one’s legal power or authority”.)
The SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) issued the judgment as contained in its “Order of Revocation” in SEC Case No.: 2025 – 8086 dated January 12, 2026, after the government agency completed its administrative proceedings concerning Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc.
Its ruling also imposed a fine of Php2 million on the travel agency for its violations. Aside from the revocation and monetary fine, the SEC also ruled that six directors, officers, and corporate representatives of the travel agency are disqualified from being directors or officers of many corporations for a period of five years reckoned from the Order’s date.
“Although the company’s AOI authorizes it to engage in land, sea, and air transport, tour packaging, representation of foreign tour operators, and ground-handling services, it does not confer the authority to directly solicit funds from the public for Hajj travel packages or to guarantee visas and flight arrangements,” the SEC emphasizes.
In effect, the SEC affirms the sole mandate of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) through its Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (BPE) “to administer all programs, projects, and activities related to the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia” as empowered by Republic Act No. 9997 (NCMF Act of 2009).
By engaging in Hajj travel packages and soliciting funds from pilgrims, the SEC said that Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc. “exceeded the scope of authority granted under its corporate charter.”
The regulatory agency adds: “By offering Hajj travel packages without lawful authority and soliciting funds from the public, the Respondent acted contrary to law and beyond the powers conferred by its Articles of Incorporation…thereby committing ultra vires acts. These acts constitute a direct violation of Section 44 of the Revised Corporation Code (R.A. No. 11232).”
Section 44 of the Revised Corporation Code provide that: “No corporation shall possess or exercise corporate powers other than those conferred by this Code or by its articles of incorporation, and except as necessary or incidental to the exercise of the powers conferred.”
To make a long story short, the SEC said Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc. “has violated the orders of the Commission.”
The SEC recalled that the travel agency was able to convince to some 2,000 Muslim Filipino pilgrims who each paid Php65,000 with a guarantee of Hajj visas and confirmed tickets to them for their religious journey in 2025.
It added that the Office of Middle East and African Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA-OMEAA) as informed by the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) had “confirmed that the Respondent was not authorized to process Hajj visas, contrary to the company’s representation.”
The SEC pointed out that it directed the travel agency on December 11, 2025, to file its Comment on the Complaint for Revocation of Certificate of Incorporation, but “the Respondent failed to file the required Comment or otherwise communicate with the Commission.”
So, the SEC’s Enforcement and Investor Protection Department (EIPD) authorized the Commission to resolved the case filed by the NCMF with the regulatory agency dated September 9, 2025, and delivered to the SEC December 4, 2025.
As this developed, SDN is still awaiting response from Al Haramain Travel and Tours, Inc. to give its side on the SEC decision. The SDN sent an email on Friday evening, January 16, to the travel agency’s two email addresses. No response was received as of the posting of this story today, January 17, 8:03 p.m. — EDD K. USMAN (®)
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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, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, 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. (®)