Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the commemoration of Sheik Karimul Makhdum Day on Friday serves as tribute to both faith and heritage.

“Even from afar, my heart is one with our brothers and sisters in Tawi-Tawi and Mindanao as we honor Sheik Karimul Makhdum, a Syrian Arab missionary who brought Islam to our shores and helped shape the moral and cultural foundations of our nation,” Pangandaman, a proud Muslim and a Mindanaoan public servant, said in a news release Friday.

“Alhamdulillah for a faith that continues to guide and unite us,” she added.

She said the DBM reaffirms its commitment to fund heritage initiatives, including the redevelopment of the Sheik Karimul Makhdum Mosque Complex and Memorial Site in Simunul.

“We are working to ensure that heritage and history become tools of empowerment, especially for our Muslim communities, women, and youth. The national budget does more than fund infrastructure — it sustains identity, builds understanding, and honors the diversity that defines the Philippines,” she added.

Sheik Karimul Makhdum Mosque in Barangay Tubig, Indangan is considered the oldest mosque, and the first recorded center of Islamic teaching in the country was declared a National Historical Landmark and a National Cultural Treasure by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) and the National Museum of the Philippines.

The commemoration of Sheik Karimul Makhdum Day every Nov. 7 is based on Republic Act 10877, signed into law on July 17, 2016, to commemorate the arrival of the Arab missionary who introduced Islam to the Philippines in 1380 A.D.

The law recognizes Makhdum’s contributions to the country’s moral and cultural foundations and encourages nationwide observance.

The commemoration forms part of the 2030 Year of Philippine Muslim History and Heritage. (PNA)