The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that it is encouraging arriving Filipinos to utilize the airport's electronic gates.

According to BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco, the use of e-gates can reduce the processing time from the usual 45 seconds to as little as 8 seconds.

Tansingco said that they are prioritizing automating all BI services and their operations at the airports.

Currently, the Bureau has a total of 21 e-gates distributed in major international airports nationwide.

On the last day of October, data shows that a total of 32,045 passengers arrived in the country, but only 5,210 utilized the e-gates.

The BI chief shared that the number of departures significantly increased before Undas, and they project that arrivals will also rise in the next few days after the long holiday break.

On 31 October, the Bureau also recorded a total of 32,352 departures and sees that this could rise to 35,000 in the next few days.

Tansingco also said that, upon approval of the BI's budget, they are planning to increase efficiency by adding more e-gates and plan to replace 50% of their manual operations by 2026.