The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) strongly denounced the “inappropriate” use of the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS) for political campaigning by some candidates in the upcoming elections.
OCD Administrator, Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said the ECBS is designed exclusively for issuing life-saving alerts during emergencies such as earthquakes, typhoons, and other public safety threats.
“Utilizing it for political messages not only undermines its critical purpose but also risks desensitizing the public to genuine emergencies, potentially endangering lives,” he said in a statement late Sunday, April 6.
According to the OCD, it has received multiple reports from residents in certain provinces who reported receiving ECBS alerts which included political content urging them to vote for specific candidates.
A social media post by Mr. Christian Dometita Zaragoza last April 3 showed an emergency text blast but instead of a warning for an impending emergency, the message contained the names of political candidates in Masbate City, in the island province of Masbate.
“Wara po akon ginasiraan na Partido o mga kandidato. Nakabaton ako kag an iba ko na kaurupod sani na EMERGENCY ALERT. An hunga ko lang, tama ba na gamiton an EMERGENCY ALERT para sa pangampanya? (I am not defaming any Party or candidates. I received an EMERGENCY ALERT along with the rest of my family. I'm just wondering, is it right to use the EMERGENCY ALERT for campaigning?),” Zaragoza asked in a Facebook post.
The candidates were running for governor, vice governor, district representative, and city mayor.
A separate text blast was also reportedly sent to residents in Parañaque City.
The candidates whose names have been featured in the emergency text blast have yet to issue statements about the matter.
But for Nepomuceno, the messages were “designed to mimic urgent emergency notifications, create confusion and may lead to complacency during real crises."
To address the issue, the OCD communicated with leading telecommunications services Globe Telecom and Smart Communications. The OCD said that Globe and Smart have confirmed that they “do not utilize the ECBS for non-emergency messages and have not sent any political campaign alerts.”
The OCD referred the issue to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for appropriate investigation and action.
“The OCD is actively coordinating with relevant agencies to thoroughly investigate these incidents and ensure that those responsible are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Nepomuceno said.
He also urged to the public to remain vigilant and report any further misuse of the ECBS.