Govt admits helplessness on jamming devices

THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) on Wednesday admitted that signal jammer devices could derail the transmission of election results on May 10 and there is no way to prevent that from happening. “It [jammer] has the capacity to prevent the transmission of the signal that will be used by Comelec [Commission on Election] to implement the [poll] automation. So, this equipment is indeed capable of disrupting [the result],” Jaime Fortes, the NTC deputy commissioner, said in a press briefing.

The handheld jammers can disable all types of mobile phone signals including those using third generation (3G) technology.

The automated elections in May 2010 requires the electronic transmission of the voting results from precinct level to the municipal level, and even to national level as well as to the canvassing centers of the citizen arm groups.

Edgardo Cabarios, the NTC director for the common carrier and authorization department, said there is no way to prevent signal jammers from disrupting the May polls.

“The only way to prevent it is to confiscate it. This are blockers of signal, transmitting radio signal using the same frequency of a GSM [Global System for Mobile],” Cabarios said.

Cabarios added that the NTC has limited capacity to detect the signal blockers, having only one finder direction per regional office. The NTC has 15 regional offices.

He said that the cost of signal monitoring is from P3 million to P5 million.

Cabarios added that the Comelec and Smartmatic-Total Information Management (TIM) can use satellite signals to transmit results, which is more difficult to block.

“They can also use landline or DSL [digital subscribers line] to transmit data,” Cabarios added.

Illegal to import
Fortes stressed that the signal blocker device is “illegal” and the regulator did not give any permit for its importation.

“Since 1991, we have received 10 requests, but we have not authorized any of the request that we received,” he said.

He added the NTC would issue a Memorandum Circular, prohibiting the importation, sale and the use of GSM communications signal jamming devices in the country to prevent interruption of data transmission on election day.

“Even without the new circular, there’s a standing policy or regulation that prohibit the importation of these devices,” he added.

The NTC’s move came on the heels of a report that 5,000 signal jammers or subscriber identification module (SIM) blockers have been shipped to the country.

In the second field testing of the automated machines conducted by the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM, problems were encountered in the transmission of results of the sample ballots to the municipality level and the poll body’s central server in Manila because of weak mobile phone signal.

Under the P11.7-billion automation contract entered into by the poll body and Smartmatic-TIM, the
Barbados-based company agreed to provide a satellite network in cases where the SIM cards won’t work in areas with faulty signals.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines will help the Philippine National Police in its campaign to trace and confiscate the jammers that have reportedly been shipped into the country.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, the Armed forces public affairs office chief, said all existing mobile phone signal jammers in the country are considered illegal because the only agencies authorized to posses such equipment are the military and the police.

Brawner added they would help the national police locate the jammers. The devices will then be confiscated and destroyed so these won’t be used in the coming elections.

Even with the threat posed by the jammers, the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM will conduct mock elections in several key areas in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region.

The mock elections aim to test the end-to-end process of voting, counting and canvassing, as well as the transmission of election results.

“It [mock elections] encompasses all the three major islands as required by our procedures. This is to simulate the process of voting, counting, canvassing, which includes transmission,” Larrazabal told reporters during a press briefing.

The mock elections will be held simultaneously all over the country on February 6 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Larrazabal said that there would be three to six established precincts for one automated election machine. –DARWIN G. AMOJELAR SENIOR REPORTER AND BERNICE CAMILLE V. BAUZON REPORTER WITH REPORT FROM JEFFERSON ANTIPORDA, Manila Times