Philippines looks to ‘halal ecosystem’ to boost tourism, trade

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - MANILA: The Philippines is developing a “halal ecosystem” to try and boost tourism and trade, according to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, as the country targets more commercial exchanges with Arab and Muslim countries.

There are only around 10 million Muslims among the nearly 120 million, predominantly Catholic, population of the Philippines, but the country is looking to expand its domestic halal industry considerably.

The government wants to raise 230 billion pesos ($4 billion) in investments and generate around 120,000 jobs by 2028 by tapping into the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion.

The NCMF, a government agency whose mandate is to promote the rights and welfare of Muslim Filipinos, is central to ensuring that the products and initiatives developed under the country’s halal drive comply with Islamic regulations.

“Since NCMF is the only (Islamic) religious institution in the government structure, NCMF should lead in the implementation of programs and activities pertaining to halal,” Sabbudin Abdurahim, the commission’s new secretary, told Arab News this week.

“The NCMF is now spearheading the implementation of programs and activities for the development ... Through collaboration with partner stakeholders, we are looking to establish a halal ecosystem in the Philippines.”

The commission is cooperating with other government agencies — including the Department of Trade, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Tourism — as the Philippines seeks to expand the market presence of its halal-certified products, which include not only food and beverage products and services, but also travel.

Since the Philippines won the Emerging Muslim-friendly Destination award at the Halal in Travel Global Summit in 2023, it has invested significantly to attract visitors from the Middle East and the nearby Muslim-majority countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, particularly by ensuring that they have access to halal products and services.

Without developing a halal ecosystem, many potential visitors from Arab and Muslim countries might choose to visit other countries like Malaysia instead, “because they are confident they can easily find halal food there, unlike in the Philippines,” Abdurahim said.

“If we have halal restaurants here in the Philippines, many visitors from Arab or Muslim countries will come here ... Our halal division is already meeting with hotels, restaurants, and other establishments (about collaborating).”

Abdurahim sees the expansion of the halal industry as beneficial for all of Philippine society.

“It will benefit not only the Muslims in the Philippines, but the economy in general,” he said.