61 Filipino pilgrims hope to be invited as royal guests

RIYADH: Sixty-one Filipinos, who met with a vehicular accident on the day of Arafat on Nov. 5, 2011, hope to come to the Kingdom as the guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.
Most of them could not complete the Haj rituals because of the accident. They are hopeful that their request to Saudi authorities will be heard and that they will be included in the annual guest list of King Salman.
Their request was made through the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah in 2011 as many of them had left Makkah without completing their pilgrimage because of injuries that left one of them with the loss of her left arm. She stayed at a government hospital for nearly 10 days and was later discharged.
The pilgrims blamed the reckless driver who was using a mobile phone while driving at high speed. He was shouting at the caller at the other end when the bus met with the accident.
In her affidavit, one of the pilgrims, Noronisa Lomondag Cadalay, said: “I, together with other pilgrims, boarded bus No. 2388 traveling to Mount Arafat to perform the most important part of the Haj. While onboard, the said bus met with a road accident because of reckless driving.”
As a result of the accident, she said: “I suffered several injuries ... My left upper limb was crushed leading to its amputation. As such, I was not able to complete the Haj rituals.”
She approached Arab News to tell her story in the hope that the king will include her and her fellow pilgrims to fulfill their Haj this year on humanitarian grounds.
The names of the affected pilgrims and details of their case are available with Arab News.