The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) strongly condemned April 5 the inappropriate use of the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS) for political campaigning.
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, the OCD said in a statement.
“The misuse of this system for political gain is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” it stressed, adding it 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.
The OCD said it has received multiple reports from residents in certain provinces, who reported receiving ECBS alerts that included political content urging them to vote for specific candidates.
But Smart Communications and Globe Telecom said they do not utilize the ECBS for non-emergency messages, and have not sent any political campaign alerts, the OCD said.
“It is crucial to emphasize that none of these telecommunications providers offer ECBS services to private individuals or companies for any purpose other than genuine emergencies,” it added as it urged the public to remain vigilant and report any further misuse of the ECBS. ||
