A five-member delegation from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) in Manila will arrive in the Kingdom on Sunday to make arrangements for the 8,000 pilgrims who will perform Haj this year.

“The delegation headed by NCMF Secretary Mehol Sadain will hold talks with Saudi Minister for Haj Bandar bin Mohammad Al-Hajjar next Monday to ensure that everything will be smooth for the Filipino pilgrims,” NCMF Commissioner Ishmael Ibrahim told Arab News from Manila.

He said the delegation wants to avoid the problems encountered by Filipino pilgrims in the past when their accommodations were far from the Grand Mosque.

“The delegation aims to settle early the accommodation payment,” Ibrahim said. “This ensures that our pilgrims’ accommodations will be nearer the Grand Mosque. They could easily walk the distance from their accommodations to the Grand Mosque to pray.”

Ibrahim had visited the Kingdom last year to make preliminary arrangements for Filipino pilgrims coming to the Kingdom to perform Haj. He met with Saudi Ministry of Haj Director Hosni Duftaji as well as the service provider.

Last year, NCMF Commissioner Edilwasif Baddiri, who is a member of the Haj delegation this year, also visited the Kingdom to meet with the service provider Al-Makarem, owned by Nayef Al-Arif, to make sure that Filipino pilgrims would have sufficient food and comfortable accommodations.

The accommodations were closer. These were in Misfala area, which is about 2-3 kilometers away from the Grand Mosque. They could walk the distance in 30 minutes.

Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay noted that in the past, the accommodations were far from the Grand Mosque. Many of the pilgrims were coming for the first time, arriving one month in advance, and prayed at the Grand Mosque before the start of Arafat.

“Their accommodations were located in Azizia district, about eight kilometers away from the Grand Mosque. At first they took buses or limos, but as the start of going to Arafat drew near the drivers increased their fares,” he said.

He added that there were also ten pilgrims in one room instead of only four. He also noted that there are more Filipino pilgrims going for Haj this year at 8,000 compared to 6,000 the previous year.