The House Committee on Muslim Affairs chaired by Lanao del Norte 1st District Representative Mohamad Khalid recently concluded its investigation based on the two measures regarding the conduct of the 2022 Hajj to Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
House Resolution 7 authored by Lanao del Sur 2nd District Representative Yasser Alonto Balindong and Lanao del Sur 1st District Zia Alonto Adiong called for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the administration, formulation of policies, and coordination with pertinent agencies by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) on the conduct of the 2022 Hajj to Mecca, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which caused hardships on the Muslim Filipino pilgrims.
House Resolution 7 authored by Reps. Yasser Alonto Balindong and Zia Alonto Adiong called for an inquiry on the conduct of the 2022 Hajj to Saudi Arabia, which caused hardships on the Muslim Filipino pilgrims.
Similarly, HR 22 by Basilan Lone District Representative Mujiv Hataman sought an inquiry into the alleged failure of the NCMF to secure the travel visas of Filipino Muslim pilgrims for the annual Hajj, with the end in view of instituting necessary reforms to ensure a better pilgrimage experience.
Among the issues tackled were the cancelled flights from Manila to the KSA and delayed issuance of visas, causing hundreds of pilgrims being stranded, as well as the new system of payment of Hajj-related fees through the ELM portal adopted by the KSA, among others.
During the hearing, NCMF Secretary Guiling Mamondiong was asked why he opted for the staggered payment scheme for the service providers.
“I wanted to make sure the pilgrims were protected in case there were violations in the contracts with the service providers.”
Mamondiong said that he wanted to make sure the pilgrims were protected in case there were violations in the contracts with the service providers.
In his closing remarks, Dimaporo said that he understood the difficulty of the NCMF as this was the first Hajj after the pandemic and the new reforms instituted by the KSA.
“So there needs to be a little bit of a learning process. On the other hand, we have identified quite frankly, I don’t know if we’ll call it negligence or mismanagement on the part of the NCMF,” the legislator said.
The lawmaker said he would task the committee secretariat to draft a committee report with recommendations.
He explained the members of the panel would decide during the break or before the resumption of session whether or not to pursue further investigation or focus specifically on the preparation for the Hajj 2023.
