President Benigno S. Aquino III extended Tuesday his first greetings to the Muslims in the Philippines on the occasion of the holy fasting month of Ramadan which starts either Wednesday or Thursday, saying the event comes as the government is embarking on a journey of moral transformation.

Ramadan's first and last days depend on the sighting of the new crescent moon.

The President, in a statement posted on the government website, said Ramadan is a time of sacrifice, purification, and great hope.

Aquino said Filipino nation shares the Ramadan spirit where people must take sacrifices and resolve to take the “straight path” by promoting the common good.

“The Filipino nation joins our brothers and sisters in Islam in the observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan. Ramadan is both a time of sacrifice and purification: as you fast, pray and act with kindness towards the poor and the less fortunate, may the whole world pause to reflect on the value of forgoing worldly pleasures to cleanse the body, mind and soul,” he said.

“Along with this, may we also be reminded that Ramadan is also a time for great hope. For the sacrifices that bring a community closer to one another and to the Almighty brings the promise of grace and abundance,” he said.

The presidential message in solidarity with Muslims in the Philippines was facilitated by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) headed by Secretary Bai Omera D. Dianalan-Lucman.

It has been a tradition for every incumbent President to offer greetings during Islamic religious events in the country.

Aquino noted the sacrifice of those who are performing the fast, which is abstention from food, drinking, smoking, and other sensual pleasures from sunrise to sunset.

“We commend you for the setting an example to Filipinos on what one’s spiritual strength is capable of achieving. In this time of change, it is important that we are willing to forgo small comforts for the development of our characters and, ultimately, our nation," said the President.

Dianalan-Lucman formed a National Moon-sighting Committee (NMC) whose members spread across strategic areas around the country to look at the horizon for the crescent that ushers in every month of the lunar-based Hijrah calendar.

She said the NCMF would announce the sighting based on the opinion of the Muslim religious leaders, or the ulama, through the Darul Iftah (House of Opinion).

Ulama Aleem Said Ahmad Basher of the Imam Council of the Philippines (IMCI) said it was very likely that Ramadan would start Wednesday. (With a report by Genalyn Kabiling)