Saudi Arabia is limiting the number of pilgrim visas this year to prevent illegal migrant workers exploiting pilgrimages and festivals to gain access to the country.
The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) announced on July 3 that Saudi Arabia is to grant only 500 visas for prospective umrah participants.
The umrah is a pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that can be undertaken throughout the year.
Pilgrims will have to apply at special registration centers in Manila and around the country before July 9 said NCMF Secretary and CEO Bai Omerah Dianalan-Lucman.
She thanked the Saudi embassy for its “prompt” allocation of the 500 visas for umrah pilgrims despite the problems with job seekers.
According to NCMF’s Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment (BPE), this year’s umrah will peak in August and September this year, when Muslims observe Ramadan, their holy month of fasting and prayer.
Eid al Fitr, the Islamic “feast of sacrifice” ending Ramadan, falls around Sept. 9 and has been declared a national holiday.
Esteban Conejos Junior, foreign affairs undersecretary said almost 300 Filipinos without valid documents who had formed a community under Khandara Bridge in Jeddah were deported during Ramadan last year.
A number of Muslim holders of special pilgrimage visas who overstayed were also deported last year.
The National Statistics Office says there are roughly two million Muslims in the Philippines.
Source: Cath News India
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