AFP, police to run after signal jammers

The Armed Forces of the Philippines the other day said it will coordinate with the Philippine National Police to run after those who sell phone signal jammers, which some sectors fear could sabotage the upcoming automated polls.

“The AFP will help in the campaign of the PNP against these jammers. First of all, these are illegal according to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The only authorized agency that can use these is the military, the AFP and the PNP,” AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr. told reporters.

“We can help the PNP arrest those who sell these jammers. We are increasing our intelligence effort to find out the location of these jammers and probably later on, these information will help us in the confiscation of these jammers so these would not be used during the elections,” he said.

Brawner said they have yet to determine the groups peddling these devices. He, how-ever, said they will closely monitor their ranks to ensure that no one would use them illegally. “We will look carefully into that (uniformed personnel allowed to use signal jammers). Although we are authorized, the jamming of signals, as of now, does not have intelligence value to us,” he said. Brawner said their crackdown of signal jammers are part of their efforts to ensure credible and orderly elections. 

Earlier, the Commission on Elections expressed concerns about the reported entry of around 5,000 jammers of mobile phone signals. Officials believe the devices would be used to manipulate the results of the first automated elections in the country.

Jamming stores raided

In related developments, Operatives of the Manila  Police District on Tuesday raided business establishments in Binondo, Sta. Cruz, and Raon, Quiapo, Manila, due to reports that jamming devices, which can allegedly be used to disrupt the country’s fist automated elections, are being sold here.

While the raiding teams failed to recover jamming devices, Superintendent Nelson Yabut, head of MPD Station 3 in Sta. Cruz, nevertheless said they were able to confirm that the jamming devices proliferates in these areas.

Yabut said that  Vincent Tan, who was manning the Xing Sheng Enterprises at No. 541 Florentino Torres St., admitted that he sold on Tuesday four units of the device.

His admission, Yabut said, was supported by the business receipts for the purchase of the signal jammers, police recovered from the store.

However, Yabut said the receipts do not contain the names and addresses of the persons who bought the jammers. “Obviously, Tan  sold the signal jammers to unscrupulous individuals since there was no name or address of the buyer indicated on the receipts found in their office,” noted Yabut.  

“Umamin siya (Tan) na kauubos lang nung tinda niyang jamming device. (he admitted that he had just disposed the jamming device),” he said.

He also  said Tan revealed   there was a sudden demand for the device which was unusual because the stocks had been with them for a couple of years now.

Police ordered the closure of the said store owned by Jose Li  after it was discovered that it has no license from the NTC to sell the jamming devices aside from an expired  business permit to operate the store.

Yabut, along with operatives of  MPD Station 11 under Superintendent Rogelio Rosales, raided several establishments in Binondo and Raon on order of MPD Director Chief Supt. Rodolfo Magtibay to prevent the proliferation of jamming devices. It was conducted based on intelligence reports from the Office of Supt. Ernesto Fojas of the MPD Intelligence Unit that several jamming units were being sold in the area. With Nestor Etolle