Duterte names head of 2020 Hajj Mission to Saudi Arabia
Credit to Author: Catherine S. Valente, TMT| Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 02:46:28 +0000
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has designated the secretary of the National Commission on Muslim Filipino (NCMF) as Amirul Hajj for Hajj Mission 2020 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Duterte signed on January 21 the appointment of Saidamen Pangarungan as the head of the Philippine Hajj Mission for this year.
Pangarungan, who served as governor of Lanao del Sur from 1988 to 1992, was appointed by Duterte as the NCMF secretary in July 2018.
As the head of the NCMF, Pangarungan was also designated last year as the Amirul Hajj for the annual Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
According to the NCMF, an Amirul Hajj is the one who heads the Muslim Filipino pilgrimage delegation to Mecca, Saudi Arabia who, by law, shall be the head of the Commission.
The appointed Amirul Hajj shall be knowledgeable on hajj rituals and with established and administrative and managerial skills, the NCMF said.
Hajj is the Islamic pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca), Saudi Arabia, one of the fifth pillars of Islam. Every adult Muslim is obliged to perform the hajj in one’s lifetime.