Cell Phone Jammers foul up airport computers

IMMIGRATION unplugged its cell phone jammers at the international airport on Monday after finding out they were damaging office computers and passport-reading machines, an official said yesterday.

“The computers were not properly operating, and they could not link up with the Internet when the cell phone jammers were on,” Immigration supervisor Ferdinand Sampol said.

“The passport-reading machines were also being affected, so Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan instructed me to pull them out,” he said.

Officials installed 12 of the machines on Aug. 3 to stop corrupt Immigration agents from human trafficking or shaking down people at the airport. Critics were claiming some agents were using their cell phones to communicate with people escorting departing passengers to speed up their processing.

The cell phone jammers cost P200,000 each, and they were put up in all three terminals to boost a rule banning agents from using their cell phones while on duty.

The machines were effective only within a radius of 40 feet from Immigration counters, allowing passengers to use their cell phones after leaving the area. Vito Barcelo