NCMF-SOCCSKSARGEN makes it twice in a row as champion — male bracket — in the 2025 50th and 2026 51st National Qur’an Reading Competition (NQRC).
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MANILA, April 16, 2026 (SDN) — Cold cash worth Php100,000, trophies, and honor each went to Amid M. Pasandalan, General Santos City, and Rahima P. Amerol, Cebu City.
Pasandalan and Amerol won as champions — male and female brackets — of this year’s edition, the 51st National Qur’an Reading Competition (NQRC), which the Bureau of Muslim Cultural Affairs of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF-BMCA) staged at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, Pasay City, Metro Manila.
NCMF-SOCCSKSARGEN based in General Santos City, Southern Mindanao, made it twice in a row. Samsudin D. Abdulsamad won the 50th NQRC in April 2025.
Winners of the annual Qur’an reading contest also get the privilege of representing the Philippines in competitions abroad, such as in Malaysia’s International Qur’an Reciters Assembly (IQRA). Others are in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Brunei, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, and other countries.
BMCA Director Benrajiv J. Kashim said this year’s winners and their cash prize in the male category are Pasandalan (Php100,000), NCMF-SOCCSKSARGEN, Amir M. Hassan (Php50,000), 1st Runner-up, of Sultan Kudarat, NCMF-SOCCSKSARGEN, and Salman D. Dimaro (Php25,000), of NCMF-South Luzon.
In the female category, he said the winners are Amerol (Php100,000), NCMF-Visayas, Norhata B. Laolao (Php50,000), NCMF-SOCCSKSARGEN, and Raihana B. Ambangala (Php25,000).
The national government through the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA) based in Davao City first staged the Qur’anic event in 1976 which later on was handled by four government agencies, including the defunct Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA), and now by the NCMF, which replaced the OMA in 2010.
Presently, the BMCA handles, organizes, and manages the NQRC, on of the NCMF’s mandated and key programs aimed at promoting, enhancing, and preserving the country’s Islamic heritage.
When the NQRC champions and other placers participate in international competitions, they also serve as the Philippines’ unofficial ambassadors as they meet with representatives from other countries, rubbing elbows, and fostering amity and understanding. — EDD K. USMAN (¥)