News From : DagangHalal.com (13 Mar 2010)
The historical landmark Manila Hotel made yet another history as it became the first hotel to receive the “halal” compliance certificate from the National Commission on Muslim Filipino (NCMF) on March 12, 2010, at its Roma Salon.
“For the past years, we are trying to tap the Middle East and Muslim tourists to come and visit the Philippines.
That’s quite a big market, since they are about 10 million in population.
But whenever we proposed it, they would ask if there is halal food in the country. Their main concern is they will starve if they come to the country,” said Department of Tourism (DoT) Special Concerns Director Shalimar Hofer Tamano, who also heads the DoT halal program.
He added: “Our campaign in the Muslim countries will be for naught if we don’t have halal food to offer them.”
Being halal-compliant, Manila Hotel will be able to serve fully the Muslim consumers and tourists, adequately and sufficiently meeting their demands based on the principles that govern halal. This is deemed significant in the hotel and hospitality industry, as well as the tourism sector, since it would certainly help Philippine tourism with the possible surge of tourist influx from the Middle East and other Muslim countries.
“With our strategic location on the map, the Philippines can be a transit for halal products in the future. So far, New Zealand and Australia produce and supply all the halal needs of the Middle East. In Asia, Thailand has the biggest market, about 63 percent. To think, that it is not even a Muslim country,” said Director Tamano.
The hotel has undergone a series of deliberations and inspections before they managed to conform to all the criteria and status that NCMF has developed.
“We follow and inspect the Manila Hotel operation strictly, from sourcing of suppliers to the preparation of food. We follow it from the farm to the table, how and where the raw materials are sourced, to how they are processed and transported before they reach consumers. It has to be a symbiotic relationship that is established based on the framework of halal,” said NCMF bureau Director Tahir Sinsuat Lidasan Jr.
He continued: “It is not just religious blessing that make a food halal. There should be no contamination, which means no pork, no wine, and no haram (bad) things on it. We check the components through scientific investigation and experimentation. Also, the manner of slaughter should be based on the halal principles. The animal’s body should be totally drained with blood. The jugular vein, arteries, and esophagus are removed.”
The Manila Hotel is now using and serving halal products.
“Non-Muslim people can eat halal food, but Muslims can’t eat ordinary food. So, it is easier for us to transform our kitchen into halal,” said Manila Hotel General Manager Kleon Keekstra.
By MA. GLAIZA LEE