Reports of cellphone signal jammers entering the Philippines worrisome, said the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
 
Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez said while signal jammers are not new; they are still worried about it because of the reported large shipment.
 
‘Several reports have it that there are 5,000 or more units being brought into the country so that's a little more worrisome,” he said.
 
“We've been trying to verify the accuracy of these reports, whether or not it's true that these jammers have been brought into the country and if they have, who brought them in and for what reason,” added Jimenez.
 
The poll official, however, assured that they have measures to counter any plan to sabotage the conduct of the elections.
 
“We do have countermeasures as protection against these things such as the loss of signal…We've always identified the loss of the cellphone signal as one of the major things that could go wrong on Election Day,” Jimenez said.
 
“Jammers are not superdevices that you cannot counter. That can be countered by a jammer jammer… for lack of a better description, you can jam whatever sends out a signal that jams you,” he added.
 
The head of the Comelec Education and Information Department then vowed to defend not only the automated project but the election process as well.

“When people try to jam the system, when people try to sabotage the system in any way, they're not just sabotaging the election project, they're sabotaging the electoral process and that's something that is in the Comelec's responsibility. That is something that we are bound by the Constitution to protect. So whatever costs there are, they will be taken on by the Comelec,” Jimenez said.