THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) yesterday said 46,000 departing and arriving Filipinos and foreigners logged in at the government’s etravel platform during its weekend rollout.
“Sa first day more than 32,000 arriving foreigners at Filipinos ang nag-register at more than 14,000 naman na mga Filipinos na paalis ang nag log in sa site (There were 32,000 arriving foreigners and 14,000 departing Filipinos who logged in at the site),” Immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval told the Laging Handa public briefing.
“We have been receiving great feedback from the public. Malaking tulong talaga ito sa mga bumibiyahe (This is a big help to travelers),” Sandoval also said, adding the system did not encounter any major problem during the rollout.
The BI said the system is a single data collection platform for inbound and outbound passengers for purposes of establishing an integrated border control, health surveillance, and economic data analysis.
Sandoval said the eTravel system is an initiative of a sub-technical working group of the Inter-Agency Task Force headed by the bureau, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Tourism, the Bureau of Quarantine, the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Health, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice, and the National Privacy Commission as members.
The platform was initially rolled out at the arrival area and was expanded to cover departing travelers.
Sandoval’s assessment was shared by Technical Working Group head Dennis Javier.
“So far, the implementation remains very smooth, with no noted glitches or issues,” Javier said after meeting with representatives of the Airline Operators Council and BI terminal heads and immigration officers to address any operational concerns.
For his part, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the eTravel system is also at par with systems being used by other countries for their arrival and departure data.
“Modernization of the bureau is really one of the priorities of the BI. This is but the first step in many technological improvements in immigration,” the BI chief said.
Under the eTravel system, all passengers and crewmembers arriving in the Philippines are required to register through etravel.gov.ph not earlier than 72 hours from their intended arrival.
Sandoval said those who fail to register through e-Travel for one reason or another will be assisted by the airline staff upon arrival and before assessment by the quarantine office.
Meanwhile, departing Filipinos who also fail to register or update their e-Travel record may do it before the immigration inspection booth or they may fill out departure cards inside the immigration area.
