Filipino pilgrims planning to perform pilgrimage to Makkah, Saudi Arabia, for Hajj 2009 in the later part of November can now register with the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) under Executive Director Datu Ali B. Sangki.

The Hajj or pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who is mentally sound and financially capable is obliged to perform the Hajj once in a lifetime.

OMA will accept Hajj registration at its Central Office in Quezon City until Sept. 20 only. Registration started on June 1 in the OMA regional provinces in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.

For the success of the Philippine Hajj Mission, where a projected 3,000 Filipinos will participate, Sangki urged OMA officials, employees, the pilgrims' leaders (murshid) and the pilgrims themselves to cooperate.

Last July 22 during their meeting in Cairo, Egypt, Arab health ministers unanimously agreed to stop pilgrims who are from 65 years old and those pre-teens from performing the Hajj because of the  potential threat of spreading the pandemic Influenza A(H1N1) virus.

Earlier in June, Saudi Arabia officials urged "the elderly, ill and unfit Muslims to postpone the (Hajj) journey to Makkah due to fears over the swine flu virus."

However, the decision of the Arab health ministers has to be approved by each particular country and, so far, Saudi Arabia has not yet made any decision to implement the decision to bar the elderly and the pre-teens from the five-day pilgrimage.

Sangki said that should Saudi authorities implement it, then he would appeal for reconsideration.

"OMA will appeal to the Saudi government if that is the case and we will require the elderly and the young pilgrims to submit a medical health on their fitness to perform the physically demanding Hajj rites," said Sangki.

An OMA Hajj pamphlet showed that this year every Filipino pilgrim will have to spend $3,091 (P151,000) for adult, S$2,362 (P115,000) for a child.

Inclusive in the Hajj cost are airfare and taxes, $1,424 (P69,400) for adult, US$855 (P41,700) for a child, US$114 (P5,500) for infant; mutawiff fee, US$1,492 for Makkah and Madinah accommodation -- US$1,057, transportation and service fee -- US$275, food in Arafat and Mina -- US$95, and food in Madinah -- US$65; pilgrims' leaders' fee (murshid), US$160; and Saudi Ministry of Hajj charges, US$15.