MANILA – While everyone was trying to settle in a room at PNP headquarters on Thursday, Mar Roxas, Home Secretary and local government secretary, called the crowd’s attention to check if someone had a signal on his cell phone.
When everyone’s head tilted to check their phones, Roxas then announced that a signal jammer was working in the room to illustrate how the jammer worked.
Roxas held a press conference at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Thursday, which he attended with the chairman of the Sixto Brillantes Electoral Commission, Commissioner Gamaliel Cordova of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and senior police officers.
They presented signal jammers, a device that is used to generate telecommunication noises to block signals from mobile devices and WLAN routers.
Roxas told reporters that he could get the jammers from a source. The source only took a day to buy four jammers that looked more like wireless routers, and only cost them around 30,000 pesetas.
“Hindi po mahirap hanapin ito am hindi rin mahal,” said Roxas.
He announced that the presentation was intended to disrupt the May 13 election.
According to the PNP’s cybercrime unit, signal interference transmitters work within a radius of 10 to 20 meters, which is practically the size of a polling area.
It works at different frequencies and can also be used inside a car, using the car charger on the built-in cigarette lighter in the dashboard as a power source.
There are even models that are battery powered.
Cordova explained that all signal jammers are illegal in the Philippines and are believed to have been brought into the country by smuggling.
“Pag meron nito, malamang smuggled, kasi walang allows nito,” said Cordova.
The NTC reported from the beginning of the campaign period that signal interference is widespread.
The NTC assured the public that they are now monitoring the suspected source of signal interference and are coordinating with the police for a possible operation to arrest people and confiscate the items.
He believes that jammers can delay the expected timely transmission of election results in the districts.
Brillantes said, however, that contingencies already exist in such cases.