THE Bureau of Immigration is set to procure and install within the year 100 more electronic gates (e-gates) at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other international airports in the country, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said yesterday.
“The BI is in the process of procuring over 100 additional e-gates for deployment in all international airports. This initiative is designed to ease congestion, shorten queues, and ensure a smooth arrival and departure experience for Filipino travelers, especially OFWs,” Viado told Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla who conducted an inspection of the e-gates installed at NAIA Terminal 3 yesterday.
Remulla observed the live operation of the BI’s e-gates, which are currently installed at the country’s major international terminals.
Remulla and Viado also had a tour of the newly-opened Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) wing at the airport.
“The BI is expected to deploy the additional e-gates within the year,” Viado said, adding there is a need to purchase the additional e-gates considering that airport operations have significantly improved with more travelers arriving in recent years.
“The expansion of the e-gate program is part of our Bagong Immigration initiative, fully aligned with the President’s call for a Bagong Pilipinas, an efficient, technology-driven government that puts the public first,” he said,
Viado said the BI is continuously investing in smart technology solutions not only to boost convenience for travelers, but to reinforce the agency’s mandate of protecting the country’s borders.
The expansion of the BI’s e-gate program is aimed at streamlining immigration procedures while upholding national security.
The e-gates use biometric verification technology to automate immigration clearance, reducing processing time for eligible passengers as short as eight seconds.
At present, the BI has 21 such gates installed in international airports, majority in NAIA.
The BI has said the project will cost P1.9 billion, but the agency stressed it is necessary to enable the country’s airports to be at par with their international counterparts. – With Osias Osorio
