Deputy Minority Leader and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman filed a bill seeking to remove the powers and functions of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) over the administration of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
The lawmaker also said the administration of the annual pilgrimage “has been characterized by incompetence over the past several years.” Hataman authored House Bill 9096 titled “The NCMF Reform Act of 2023” which seeks to amend Republic Act 9997 to remove the administration of the hajj from the NCMF. The bill allows the private sector to handle the hajj services for Filipino Muslim pilgrims.
“The recent issues surrounding the plight of Filipino Muslim pilgrims during the 2023 Hajj in Saudi Arabia brought to light, yet again, the years of poor treatment of Filipino pilgrims suffering from poor living conditions, delayed and substandard meals, and delayed transportation, among others,” Hataman said in the bill’s explanatory notes.
Hataman also cited Section 2 of the measure states that: “The NCMF shall no longer perform any powers and functions relative to the administration of hajj except to register and accredit sheiks, who are private individuals or entities engaged in facilitating, processing, and providing guidance for the annual hajj for Muslim Filipinos in Makkah, Saudi Arabia.”
Further, Section 3 of HB 9096 amends Section 15 of RA 9997 that defines the powers of the hajj attaché, saying “ … The Hajj Attache shall coordinate with the Ministry of Hajj of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on matters pertaining to the conduct of the annual Hajj where government-to-government action is necessary including certification as to change of Pilgrims’s name, but not to intervene in the administration, conduct, facilitation or processing of hajj for Muslim Filipinos… ”
“The recent issues surrounding the plight of Filipino Muslim pilgrims during the 2023 Hajj in Saudi Arabia brought to light, yet again, the years of poor treatment of Filipino pilgrims suffering from poor living conditions, delayed and substandard meals, and delayed transportation, among others,” Hataman said in the bill’s explanatory notes.
“These services are provided or facilitated by the NCMF; a service Filipino Pilgrims paid for at high costs. The conduct, processing and facilitation of the hajj for Muslim Filipinos should be left to the competence of the private sector whose expertise and experiences in hajj would ensure that our pilgrims will be provided with the best services. This bill aims to do just that,” it added.
Hataman said in some countries, especially where Muslims are a minority, the hajj administration is given solely to the private sector. But in countries such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, it is split between the public and private sector.