Gov’t acquiring new airport e-gates in P1.5-B deal
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday signed a P1.5-billion contract with technology firm iWave Inc. for the procurement of additional electronic gates (e-gates) at international airports in the Philippines—an innovation seen to improve traveler experience and curb corruption at the country’s gateways.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado led the contract signing at the BI’s main office in Manila, together with Marco Urera, authorized representative of iWave.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the project would be implemented immediately, starting with the transfer and installation of the newly procured e-gates.
“Our target is to convert half of the manual immigration operations at international ports to electronic gates. We will implement this in phases. For arrivals, the first to use these electronic gates will be Filipinos in the arrival area. We are also expanding this to include departing Filipinos, especially overseas Filipino workers, as well as certain types of foreign nationals,” Sandoval said in an interview.
Curbing corruption
On Dec. 16, President Marcos led the unveiling of 78 biometric e-gates across Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), funded by airport operator New Naia Infra Corp. (NNIC).
The e-gates are expected to ensure a smoother travel experience for passengers.
Sandoval said that from a manual immigration processing time of 45 seconds, the technology can reduce the process to as fast as eight seconds per individual.
“We have seen the [big] difference in queues now that there are [e-gates] deployed in Naia. We also want to replicate the same thing in all the other international airports,” Sandoval said.
Beyond passenger convenience, Sandoval emphasized that the system would also “remove opportunities for corruption.”
“Of course, you cannot pay a machine to be able to sneak past immigration. That’s why we see this as a very important tool,” she added.
Sandoval said the bureau conducted numerous studies and attended international forums and conferences on technologies used by immigration agencies in other countries to gather “best practices.”
The e-gates are undergoing a phased rollout, with machines already operational at Terminals 1 and 3 for international flights.
At Naia Terminal 1, six e-gates are located at the departure area, while 12 are installed at arrivals.
Peak travel season
At Naia Terminal 3, 18 e-gates serve the main departure area, of which 12 are dedicated for overseas Filipino workers.
Queues at the immigration counters have long been complained about by travelers, especially during peak months such as the Christmas holidays when passenger volumes shoot up.
For instance, around 2.55 million passengers are expected to pass through Naia from Dec. 20 to Jan. 4, or about 5 percent higher compared to last year’s holiday season, airport operator NNIC said on Monday.
In a statement, NNIC said traffic is expected to rise across all of the airport’s terminals, with Naia projected to handle more than 13,700 flights during the holidays, exceeding last year’s levels.
Last Saturday alone, 171,306 passengers passed through the country’s premier gateway, the highest number of passengers recorded in a single day in all of the airport’s history, according to NNIC.
“Terminal 3 accounted for more than half of the total passenger volume, handling over 90,000 passengers—the largest share among all Naia terminals,” it said.
It added that on the same day, flight activity also peaked with 950 movements recorded.
Despite the high volume of passengers due to the holiday season, NNIC assured the public that “airport operations remained stable,” citing “coordinated airside management involving gate allocation, airside control, and ramp operations.”
