At least 398 Muslim pilgrims bound for Mecca in Saudi Arabia have been stranded in the National Capital Region for failure to secure their visas for their yearly Hajj ritual.
In a news conference in Quezon City, Malo Manonggiring, NCMF’s Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment officer in charge, gave the assurance that NCMF Secretary Guiling Mamondiong is doing his best to help their stranded Muslim brothers, who came to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City all the way down from different parts of Mindanao but were aborted to take their airplane ride due to absence of visas.
“Many of them have stayed with their relatives in the metro, while some have been staying elsewhere,” he told reporters.
He said the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has given the NCMF 4,074 slots for the Hajj pilgrimage.
“But 398 of the pilgrims were not allowed to leave, forcing the plane to fly to Mecca without passengers,” he noted. Each pilgrim paid $3,990 or P170,000 for the pilgrimage.
The stranded passengers were supposed to leave last Sunday.
He blamed the Elm Co. over the fiasco, saying it has failed to coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Saudi Arabia about its changes of policy in the issuance of visas for the 2022 Hajj pilgrimage.
“We are working doubly hard to enable them secure a visa so they could be there (in Mecca) before the pilgrimage starts in July,” he said.