Ex-Muslim Filipino body exec charged with graft for irregular Hajj housing contract

Former National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) secretary Yasmin Lao has been charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged irregular housing accommodation for 3,000 Filipino pilgrims in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj Season in 2014.

Assistant Special Prosecutor Jorge Espinal charged Yao with one count of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Her co-accused in the case are former NCMF chief of staff Norodin Lomondot and private respondent Ahmed Khalil.

Yao is accused of "acting with evident bad faith, manifest partiality, and/or gross inexcusable negligence" when she and her co-accused favored Khalil, who was then the director of sales and marketing of Al-Rayah Hotels.

Khalil was also the classmate of Lomondot, according to the case information.

The public officials allegedly gave unwarranted benefits to Khalil when they entered a housing contract for Filipino pilgrims in Makkah Al-Mukarramah for the Hajj. The pilgrims were given accommodations at the Al-Rayah Hotels and Al Khozai Tower, which was then still under construction.

The Ombudsman said both establishments were neither accredited nor had any necessary permits from the Ministry of Hajj at the time the contract was entered.

Further, the contract failed to adhere to guidelines issued by the ministry and that there were other hotels ready for occupancy and offering suitable services for the pilgrims.

A P30,000 bail bond has been recommended for each of the respondents. — MDM, GMA News