Malacañang has ordered authorities to look into the shipment of jamming devices and prevent them from disrupting the automated elections this May.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the government has mobilized its assets to verify the owners of the jamming devices that recently arrived in the country and determine the purpose of the equipment.

Ermita sought to allay concerns that the May automated polls may be endangered by the electronic disruptions from the jamming devices.

“Since it came to public attention all the agencies involved have their ears close to the ground, for them first to find the accuracy of the report, who may be the source, the reality of whether indeed they are here in our country and in what manner they might be used especially for illegal purpose,” he said in a news conference in the Palace.

“Definitely there was an instruction for people in government to take a look at this aspect,” he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) earlier revealed that around 5,000 units of jammers were sneaked into the country but admitted they have yet to verify such report.

Last Tuesday, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar said the Palace is concerned about the potential threat by such devices and offered assistance to the Comelec to resolve the threat.

The Comelec is expected to use GSM network radio signals, which are also used by mobile phones, to transmit election results from precincts to the Comelec servers. A jammer could be used to delay the transmission of election data by disrupting the radio signals between the cellular towers and mobile phones.