Pinoy Hajj pilgrims start arriving in Saudi Arabia

The Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah has reported that the first batch of over 400 Filipino Hajj pilgrims has safely arrived in the Saudi Arabia. In a statement dated Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said 411 pilgrims landed in Madinah on October 19 on board a Saudi Airlines flight from Manila, led by Dr. Anisa Mapupuno-Laguindab, head of the Philippine medical delegation for Hajj 2010. The statement said after complying with Saudi immigration requirements, the pilgrims proceeded to their accommodation at the Mirage Taiba Hotel in Madinah. The Filipino pilgrims were met and assisted by a team from the Consulate, led by administrative officer Abdurrahyem S.Y. Macud and composed of cultural officer Amir Hussein D. Alonto, property and protocol officer Faisal Richard A. Tamano, translator Yahya Datuharon Yahya and Office of the Hajj Attache officer-in-charge Robero M. Mutia. The Consulate-General team joined the members of the advance party of the Supervisory Group of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) and the contracted Hajj service provider in Madinah and provided them support. The arrangements for transportation and housing accommodations were finalized weeks beforehand in compliance with the Kingdom's rules for the Hajj 2010. Another batch of 406 pilgrims arrived in Madinah the next day, with the last batch expected to arrive in Jeddah on November 10. The Hajj will start on November 15, with over two million people expected to join in the pilgrimage, the DFA said. Around 3,500 Filipino Hajj pilgrims are expected to arrive in Jeddah for this year's Hajj season. The Hajj, considered the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, is an Islamic religious pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia’s Mecca where the religion’s most sacred site, Kaaba, is located. The Hajj is a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by able-bodied Muslims who have the means to do so. Some two million pilgrims participated in the Hajj in 2009, and even with safety measures and crowd control techniques, hundreds of deaths have been recorded during the event, due mainly to pilgrims being trampled to death or ramps collapsing under the weight of many visitors. - Jerrie Abella/KBK, GMANews.TV