NCMF starts accepting takers for sponsored hajj

DAVAO CITY -- At least 1,000 Muslims have so far applied for the free hajj slots being offered by President Rodrigo R. Duterte through Secretary Saidamen Pangarungan of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, an agency official said Saturday.

“This was promised by PRRD during the Eid alFitr dinner in Davao early this year for the peace efforts of Malacañang, aiming for a more harmonious relationship with Muslim Filipinos,” said Dimapuno Datu Ramos Jr., the chief of the NCMF’s external affairs bureau.

Datu Ramos said the free slots, numbering 200, were for indigent Filipino Muslims and that it would be better to have as many applicants as they wanted that those who will be granted a slot are real indigents.

This is why the NCMF required all applicants to secure a certification of indigency from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

The other requirements for the sponsored hajj: applicants should be at least 50 years old; must be a first-timer in the performance of the hajj; physically and mentally fit, as certified by any licensed physician or NCMF Medical Officer; a devoted Muslim with high good moral character, as certified by the municipal or provincial mufti or recognized imam, or the resident sheik for the region; and must have a valid Philippine passport, or with passport application duly stamped received by the regional office of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Members of the 13 tribal Muslim groups and reverts or converted to Islam are also accepted.

Datu Ramos said the NCMF, through its regional offices, has started accepting applicants as early as last week for the 2020 pilgrimage to Mecca, which will start on July 28 and end on August 2.

Overall, Datu Ramos said the NCMF had projected that the number of Filipino Muslims joining the hajj in 2020 would hit the 8,000 mark, up 1,000 from this year’s 7,000.

For the free hajj slots, the deadline for submission of applications is on Jan. 6,

2020, after which, a raffle to determine the recipients would be held at the NCMF Central Office.

“Secretary Pangarungan promised transparency via a raffle system to be done at the NCMF Central Office,” Datu Ramos said.

All pilgrims – sponsored or not – have to undergo a pre-departure seminar starting June 27, 2020.

Datu Ramos said the first batch of the pilgrims

will leave for Mecca on July 1, 2020.

The last batch would be leaving on July 20, 2020.

He said by Aug. 25, 2020, all pilgrims are expected to have already flown back to the Philippines.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is one of Islam’s five pillars and it is prescribed for those with the means and health. (PNA)