COTABATO CITY, Philippines?Filipino Muslims who want to make the annual pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca this month face a transport problem, according to the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA).

Ali Sangki, OMA executive director, told the Inquirer that 4,233 Filipinos signed up to make the hajj but Saudi Arabia Airlines, the lone airline servicing Filipino Muslim pilgrims, can only accommodate 3,433 of them.

The airline had approved 13 flights to ferry Filipino pilgrims but only 264 of the 360 seats available on each flight would be allotted to pilgrims, Sangki said.

He said the rest of the seats were reserved for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) returning to their jobs in Saudi Arabia.

Sangki said the OMA had brought the problem to the attention of the Philippine ambassador to the kingdom and the Saudia management.

?If only all the seats on the 13 approved flights were given to our pilgrimage-bound passengers, the problem would be solved,? he said.

The annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of the Islamic faith, starts on Nov. 11.

President Macapagal-Arroyo has been invited to the official send-off for the first batch.

Sangki said he was urging Muslim congressmen and those in key government positions to help solve their hajj transport woes.

?A collective appeal to the management of Saudi Airlines may soften its earlier stand and allow the exclusive use of its 13 flights for our pilgrims,? he said. Charlie C. Señase, Inquirer Mindanao