Tomas eyes cellphone jammers at City Jail

CEBU, Philippines - A special electronic gadget that will block cellphone signals will be installed soon inside the Cebu City Jail in Barangay Kalunasan to suppress illegal drug trade inside the facility.

Cebu City incoming Mayor Tomas Osmeña announced yesterday that he will help acquire a signal jamming device for the City Jail to stop the illegal activities of some unscrupulous inmates who continue to operate their illegal drug business outside by using communication gadgets like cellphone.

City Jail warden Johnson Calub supports Osmeña’s move, saying that the issue has already been discussed by the officials of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Manila.

The plan, however, was not implemented due to budgetary constraint.

While the jail manual strictly prohibits communication equipment inside the detention facilities, some inmates managed to secure cellphones because some corrupt jail guards allowed them to possess in exchange for money.

“Usahay dili man gud kalikayan nga may makalusot man gyud nga mga cellphones nga ipalusot sa mga mobisita sa piniriso. Kon anaa na ang maong signal blocking device, bisan og naa pa sila’y cellphone dili gihapon nila magamit,” said Calub.

Osmeña cited a report that a drug lord imprisoned at New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa was allegedly the mastermind in the killing of Pastor Crisostomo Maternal Jr. in Barangay Bonbon two weeks ago. Maternal is a supporter of the Bando Osmeña Pundok Kauswagan.

The cellphone jammer will block transmission signals. Telecommunication experts said that a sophisticated device can block all frequencies at once. The biggest cellphone jammers used by police and the military can be mounted in vehicles for security convoy.

Osmeña said he already talked to some trusted men of president-elect Rodrigo Duterte and discussed about how to come up with an effective campaign against the operations of drug lords and drug traffickers.

Calub said the range of high-end and expensive jamming devices can be adjusted so as not to affect other cellphone subscribers within the vicinity.

“Ang mahalon nga special gadget mahimo ra nga ma-adjust aron nga ang signal ana sa distansya nga gusto nimo nga ma-cover. Gituyo ni aron dili maapektahan ang uban,” Calub explained.

During the past greyhound operations, several cellphones were found inside the jail. — (FREEMAN)