The government has taken concrete steps to meet private sector proposals on easing entry into the country through Administrative Order 24 institutionalizing the Electronic Travel Information (eTravel) system.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the creation of a one-stop electronic travel declaration system to ease travel while strengthening border control and health surveillance.

Automating travel documents, including the use of electronic visas, was among the requests of Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go to turn the country into a shopping capital.

Another suggestion was the institution of value-added tax (VAT) refunds for tourists to match the policy of the country’s neighbors that give up to 90-percent tax rebates.

Under AO 24, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on 27 August, eTravel “shall be used by the government to efficiently conduct border control, health surveillance, tourism statistics analysis, and other travel-related procedures” for all international inbound and outbound passengers and crew of local airlines and ships.

The President also ordered the creation of a technical working group (TWG) on the eTravel system that will “study and adopt measures, as may be necessary, to further improve the system, including its usage, management, and operation, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.”

The Department of Information and Communications Technology and the Bureau of Immigration will be the lead agencies in the TWG.

Among its members are the Departments of Tourism, Migrant Workers, and Transportation and the Bureaus of Quarantine and Customs.

Marcos said that departments, agencies, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities “must provide full support to, and cooperation with, the TWG to ensure the effective implementation of the order.”

He also instructed the TWG and the relevant departments, agencies, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities to ensure compliance with Republic Act 10173 or the Data Privacy Act.

Assure funding — Marcos

Further, the funding requirement for the implementation of AO 24 shall be charged against current and available appropriations of the member agencies, subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing regulations.

“Thereafter, the funding requirements necessary for the continued implementation of this Order shall be included in the budget proposals of said agencies, subject to the usual budget preparation process,” the order read.

In December 2022, the agencies launched the eTravel System, or the unified and integrated digital data collection platform, aimed at streamlining various travel declaration procedures for international inbound passengers.

The system was expanded in April 2023 to cover all international inbound and outbound passengers and crew members arriving to and departing from the Philippines.

The President’s investments aide said the country has a huge potential to become the shopping capital of Asia as e-visas would make it easier for travelers to come to the Philippines and shop, and if they got VAT refunds.

“Every country in Asia has VAT refunds for tourists and we don’t,” Go told reporters on the sidelines of a recent retailers’ assembly.

Go said the two factors are basic requirements to help the country compete as a shopping destination in the region.

He said tourism is “a very low-hanging fruit and one of the easiest things we can boost” for the local economy.