INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) was scolded by a lawmaker for not working quickly enough to include projects supporting the country’s Halal industry in the proposed 2024 national budget — even if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. considers it as a priority sector.
During the House committee on appropriations’ hearing on the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proposed budget, Lanao del Norte 1st District Rep. Mohammad Khalid Dimaporo asked NCMF regarding the status of the programs for the Halal industry.
NCMF is an attached agency of the DILG.
In response, NCMF head Guiling Mamondiong claimed that part of their P868.9 million budget are initiatives for the Halal Industry Development. However, he lamented that their budget is too small as its operations span the whole country.
“In that P1 billion (proposed budget) Madam Chair, are there programs for Halal initiatives considering that in the Sona message of our President, he wanted to establish better relations with Malaysia and other Muslim countries?” Dimaporo asked.
“Your Honor, we have included budget for Halal Industry Development, kasama po ang Halal doon sa budget namin, although I would like to inform the distinguished members of Congress, naliliitan po ako sa budget ng NCMF (I feel that the NCMF budget is so small). We are attending to almost 15 million Muslim Filipinos all over the country, and we have only that budget,” he added.
The Halal Industry Development aims to turn the country into a supplier of Halal products, which are items that are permissible or allowed within the Islamic faith and laws. According to Mamondiong, the global Halal industry accounts for around $3.6 billion now, and is forecast to grow to $6.4 billion by 2030.
READ: Halal industry has big potential even in predominantly Christian PH
But Dimaporo maintained that the issue is not the NCMF’s low budget, as his question points more to whether or not the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) was able to provide funds regarding the establishment of a Halal office.
Dimaporo said this should be of high importance since President Marcos mentioned this during his visit to Malaysia after his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last July 2023.
READ: PH, Malaysia forge partnership in halal industry–Romualdez
In response, NCMF Director III Haidee Ampatuan explained that decentralization of the NCMF needs to happen first before the DBM provides allocation for the Halal Industry Development program.
And since the NCMF has not decentralized its operations yet, programs were not included in their budget for 2024, and Ampatuan said that DBM told them that it could be inserted in the 2025 National Expenditures Program.
“Currently the setup of the NCMF is highly centralized, so the budget is within the central office […] In terms of the office for the Halal […] part of the decentralization is to come up with a Halal Division under the Bureau of Muslim Economic Affairs. We (have yet to) finalize that, in fact, it’s not included in the 2024 budget,” Ampatuan said.
“(We) still have to finalize with the DBM on the set-up; that includes the decentralized one, and also how the fiscal autonomy of the 11 operating unit works. So sir, your Honor, we are still po in the process of finalizing it with the DBM, and we were told by DBM that this setup will be possible by 2025, because there is already a NEP for 2024,” she added.
Dimaporo replied by saying that he was about to vent his ire at the DBM, but it appears NCMF still has not addressed its internal issues.
“I was planning to be upset at the DBM for falling short of the Sona message of our President but apparently, the ball is still with NCMF to get their internal affairs in order. So I hope that they can be better prepared in the next NEP so that we can take off, just like what our President wants in terms of growing the Halal industry,” he said.
Marcos last July said that wanted to observe and explore the halal industry and Islamic banking mechanisms during his state visit to Malaysia.
According to the President, the Philippines should enjoy a share of the market, which he said is expected to eventually grow into a trillion-dollar industry.
READ: Marcos to explore halal industries, Islamic banking in Malaysia state visit