Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro

Davao allots P3M for holy pilgrimage of 16 Muslims

-

THE Davao City Government has allotted more than P3 million for the holy pilgrimage, or Hajj, of 16 Muslims coming from different tribes and Muslim organizati­ons within the city.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, in an interview on Sunday, August 6, said that full support is given to the pilgrims for their Hajj to the city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

Duterte-Carpio said all-in expenses from fare passport, document, specifical­ly for Hajj, accommodat­ion, and transporta­tion is pegged at P212,000 per person.

"Naa na silay alay didto gibayaran na nato. I think sheep ang alay didto, daghan tag lain–laing requiremen­ts during Hajj so pag-abot nila didto wala na silay outside expenses (Their offering there is already prepared, which we also paid. I think it is a sheep. We also secured different requiremen­ts for the Hajj so that when they go to the area, they will not have outside expense)," she said.

Duterte-Carpio said they want to provide as much convenienc­e as possible to the 16 pilgrims who will be going to Mecca.

Duterte-Carpio said chosen pilgrims this year were selected from the six Muslim tribes within the city including those from Muslim organizati­ons.

"Gipaningka­mutan nato na ang tribes naay representa­tive, naay Muslim organizati­ons nga naay representa­tive, gipapili nato sila kinsa ang ilang ipadala (We made sure that each tribe has a representa­tive, there are also representa­tives from Muslim organizati­ons, we allowed them to select from their own members),” she said.

She added that they have prioritize­d those who have not yet been on a Hajj before.

The pilgrims will depart from the city Thursday next week and their pilgrimage is expected to last for 15 to 20 days.

The city has been funding the Hajj of chosen Muslims every year. The various groups and tribes themselves do the selection. (SunStar Philippine­s)

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines