Comelec to thwart technical disruptions in May polls

The Commission on Elections will thwart any disruptions, including the possible use of signal jamming scheme by unscrupulous groups, in the May 13 mid-term elections.

Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, Jr. said they have received reports on the use of signal jamming devices but assured the public that they are looking into the issue.

"Che-check natin 'yan, may report na rin kami na ganyan [We've received reports about it…we'll check on that]," he said in a radio interview.

Brillantes said: "Hindi effective 'yan nang malayo dun sa voting center, malapit sa PCOS (precint count optical scanner) machine. Para i-jam 'yan, kailangan ay medyo malapit-lapit ka sa voting center.

"Ibig sabihin, maglalagay ka ng napakaraming jamming devices all over the country [It's not effective if far from the voting center or near the PCOS machine.

"To jam the signal, one should be near the voting center or one has to put a lot of jamming devices all over the country."

He said the poll body's IT department is in constant coordination with telecom companies and the National Telecommunications Commission to prevent signal jamming on election day.

He assured the public that the poll body has contingency plans in case the use of signal jamming device becomes successful.

He added: "Sa local [polls] naman, makikita mo naman 'yan. Magkaroon man ng jamming, hindi naman problema ang pag-transmit ng record.

"Ma-i-jam man 'yan, naitatakbo naman natin yung CF (compact flash) cards at hard copy [In local polls, it won't be a problem to transmit record should there be a jamming. We can still run the CF cards and hard copy].

"Kung sakaling maging effective 'yan, iyung contigency na yan, medyo preparado tayo diyan.

"Tingnan natin kung ano mangyayari later [In the event it becomes effective, we are prepared, we have contingency plans. Let's see what happens]." (PNA)