Manila airport to install mobile phone signal jammers

Manila: Authorities will install mobile phone signal jammers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal (NAIA) in a bid to prevent human trafficking at the country's premier air gateway.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan did not disclose when the devices will be fitted but he said top officials had already approved the immediate procurement of 12 units of dampers and jammers for the NAIA Terminal 1.

The jammers will be fitted at the arrival and departure areas of the NAIA. It will render mobile communications useless in these areas.

The reason why the Immigrations had adopted such a policy is mainly because human trafficking syndicates had been using their mobile phones to get in touch with their contacts at the airport.

Through the use of mobile phones, human traffickers had been able to facilitate the exit of their victims to another country through the NAIA.

Libanan said that by jamming the mobile phone signals at the airport, it will be more difficult for human traffickers to coordinate their movements with corrupt immigrations personnel.