OMA Executive Director Sultan Yahya Tomawis formed Thursday an internal body called Oversight Committee to further check the integrity of certificates of conversion to Islam issued by OMA, noting that some Islamic groups independent of OMA are also issuing these documents.

He assigned the committee to "set forth guidelines in the issuance of certificates of conversion and cultural (tribal) identity" emanating from OMA.

The Saudi Embassy recently uncovered a scheme of some Manila-based recruitment agencies deploying non-Muslim Filipino workers to Makkah or Madinah.

"Per information gathered by the Embassy from these workers, they are not Muslims. But some recruitment agencies’ owners told them that if they desire to work in Saudi Arabia, they should be Muslims and should present an Islamic certificate proving they are Muslims," a note verbale sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on March 3 said.

"Unfortunately, some of them have obtained entry visas to Saudi Arabia, and it is not certain if they have already entered the two holy places in Saudi Arabia where non-Muslims are not allowed," the note said.

Ambassador Wali said in the note verbale to the DFA that deploying non-Muslims to Makkah and Madinah should not be regarded "as ordinary or simple matter" because it could cause "anger and pain" to Muslims around the world.

The DFA had announced that it was doing something to stop the practice.

In a meeting between OMA and Saudi Embassy officials and the Bulletin in attendance at the embassy on March 10, both sides stressed that sending non-Muslims to either Makkah or Madinah is "blasphemy" that will hurt the feelings of all Muslims.

Director Paharudin Pangcoga, who represented Tomawis in the meeting, assured the embassy officials OMA is doing its best to correct any lapses in the issuance of documents in the past.

Some local Muslims asked Ambassador Wali to ban all recruitment agencies involved in the "fake Muslim converts" racket and never to allow them to deploy workers to Saudi Arabia to teach the rest a lesson.

"Some Manila-based recruitment agencies, many of them owned and operated by Arabs with their Filipino dummies, already know that non-Muslims are not allowed entry in Makkah and Madinah and still do it. They don’t deserve leniency," one local Muslim said.

He expressed surprise why the Department of Labor and Employment is still keeping its silence when Ambassador Wali had already appealed to Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas to do something to stop the practice.