Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) Executive Director Datu Ali B. Sangki said Saturday some 3,500 Filipinos are joining millions of pilgrims for Hajj 2009, but at the same time exposed six persons who went for Umrah pilgrimage are now staying illegally in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

The six TNTs (tago ng tago) belonged to the 528 Umrah pilgrims who performed this year’s minor pilgrimage.

Hajj pilgrimage comes after Umrah. The former is obligatory while the latter is optional.

Sangki said the six pilgrims did not show up for their return flight to Manila after the Umrah period.

TNT has been popularized in the United States (US), referring to Filipinos who violate the rules of their visa by staying illegally.

In the case of Filipino pilgrims to Makkah, their visa gives them only a certain period of time to stay after the Umrah and Hajj pilgrimage rites. But some pilgrims choose to stay illegally and look for job opportunities.

“For this 2009 Hajj Season, OMA has processed 3,500 intending pilgrims. Over 2,000 are now in Saudi Arabia,” Sangki said.

The pilgrims, he added, were able to get their passports and stamped with hajj visa in three to four days before their scheduled departure.

As this developed, he thanked Saudi Ambassador Muhammad Ameen Wali and the Saudi Embassy for facilitating the travel of the pilgrims.

The OMA head said 98 percent of them were already booked with Saudi Arabian Airlines through the help of country manager Abdullah Al-Azhari.

“This is a big improvement compared to past Hajj operations where the pilgrims only get their travel documents at the airport, causing anxiety and sleepless nights,” the OMA head said.