(18 February 2025, Jakarta) - The National Commission of Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), headed by Atty. Hassanal Abdurahim, Chief of Staff of NCMF Secretary Sheik Sabuddin Abdurahim, met with various government and non-government institutions in Jakarta on 10-14 February 2025 as part of their benchmarking visit to learn from Indonesia’s policy and best practices with regard to various Muslim concerns, such as halal, hajj, madrasah education, waqf (endowment), mediation and arbitration, and Muslim Persons Deprived of Liberty.

The 8-member delegation from NCMF visited the following institutions in Indonesia: Hajj Organizing Agency; Halal Product Assurance Organizing Agency; Directorate for Islamic Education, Ministry of Religious Affairs; Directorate General of Corrections of the Ministry of Corrections and Immigration; Badan Arbitrase Nasional Indonesia (BANI Arbitration Center); and Indonesian Endowment Fund for Education Agency (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan [LPDP]).

This is the first time that NCMF engaged with its various counterparts in Indonesia in line with its commitment to further improve its services to Muslim Filipinos by learning from the experience of other countries.

“Although the Philippines and Indonesia profess different majority faiths, their shared cultural heritage provides enough space for the two countries to cooperate with regard to addressing the various concerns and needs of Muslim Filipinos. Hopefully, this benchmarking trip of NCMF will lead to concrete deliverables in the context of the ongoing celebration of the 75th anniversary of Philippines-Indonesia diplomatic relations,” Charge d’Affaires Gonaranao B. Musor said. END