BOC deploys agents vs signal jammers, gets flak for 'sleeping' on job

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) may have announced the deployment of intelligence agents to verify the entry of signal-jamming devices that threaten transmission of poll results in May, but a group criticized the agency on Tuesday for apparently sleeping on its job. BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales said on Tuesday that he assembled a team as early as Monday to coordinate with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the National Telecommunications Commission. “Pinalakad ko na ang aking intelligence to coordinate with Comelec and NTC (I had the intelligence agents coordinate with the Comelec and the NTC)," Morales said in an interview on dzXL radio. But despite BOC’s action on the alleged entry of signal jammers, militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chided the bureau for sleeping on its job. Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said the BOC might have been sleeping on the job for being unable to detect the entry of the devices, adding that it was the Comelec who announced the reported shipment. [See: Comelec wary over reported shipment of signal jammers] Also, Bayan voiced fears that powerful interests, including those in government, might be behind the importation of 5,000 jamming devices. Expensive procurement Reyes said the sheer volume of procurement of very expensive devices indicates that the buyer may not simply be a private entity. "Not many people can afford such a huge shipment of cellular phone jamming devices. At $300 per piece, 5,000 pieces would have a total cost of $1.5 million or some P69 million. That’s a huge amount of money. Who would have the means and motive to make such procurement? Probably one who has a lot of money and would want to undertake massive cheating or push the failure of elections," Reyes said on the Bayan Website. He urged the BOC and NTC to investigate "even government agencies who may have an interest in acquiring these devices." Citing data from the Internet, Bayan said cellular phone signal jammers are commercially available ranging from $200-$300 for handheld ones. "A professional handheld jamming device can block signals as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transmission to up to 20 meters, or just about the area of a polling precinct," Bayan said. It added that with the threat of cellphone jammers now entering the picture, Comelec and Smartmatic may not have enough transmission options on May 10. Emergency plans On Tuesday morning, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the Comelec en banc was about to discuss the issue and lay down measures against it. [See: Comelec takes up jamming problem at en banc meet] Also, Larrazabal said the poll body has emergency plans in place, taking into account a “loss of signal." He added that contingency plans involve the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines printing out 30 copies of election returns, regardless of whether there is a cell signal or not. Members of the local Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs) will then secure the printed Election Returns (ERs) and bring them to the canvassing centers. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV