Immigration Unveils E-Gates

20 July 2018

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) launches today its Electronic Gate System (E-Gate) project in a bid to further improve the processing of international passengers and reduce the long queues of travelers at the airports.

BI Commissioner Jaime H. Morente said the project cost P329-million project launched initially at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), with the Bureau expecting to cut the standard processing time for every traveler to only about 8 to 15 seconds from the present average of 45 seconds.

Morente said that aside from facilitating expeditious passenger processing, the project will also enhance the BI’s ability to pinpoint or detect travelers with derogatory records, including wanted fugitives and those who are in the Immigration Blacklist, Interpol Watchlist and Hold Departure List.

The E-Gates, an initiative of the International Air Transport Assocaition (IATA) through its Fast Travel program, are equipped with modern security features such as facial recognition, biometric scanning, bar code reading, and smart card recognition. It will first be introduced to Filipino passengers with machine readable passports. Children, senior citizens on wheelchairs and other handicapped travelers will have to be processed at the regular counters.

A total of 21 E-Gates will be installed and operational before the year ends in 5 major international airports. Eleven E-Gates will be installed at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3, while five will later operate in Mactan, three at Clark, and two in Davao.

LOOK: The new Immigration gates at work. The government has spent P321 million for 21 gates spread over NAIA T1 and 3, Cebu and Clark. pic.twitter.com/XSC0HHnEyz

— Gerard de la Peña (@gerarddelapena) July 19, 2018