A top official of the International Border Management and Technologies Association (IBMATA) is urging port regulators to install e-gate systems at all ports to strengthen border control further and protect the country against human smuggling.

Although the latest report of the United States’ Department of State in 2025 said the Philippine government fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking due to its continued demonstration of serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period that placed the country in Tier 1, Sharon Ayley, chief executive officer and secretary of IBMATA said the Marcos administration should not be complacent.

“There are enormous benefits in using e-gates. I and the Philippine Immigration chief (Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado) spoke about that not just for a security perspective but from a facilitation perspective. And I understand a lot of your islands are tourist destinations and you are making a good impression that when tourists arrive, they can get through quickly and seamlessly,” she told the DAILY TRIBUNE in a roundtable discussion in Manila on Wednesday.

Biometric e-Gates at major Philippine airports, primarily Terminals 1 and 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, allow Filipino travelers to clear immigration in roughly 20 seconds, using facial recognition and passport scanning. Currently, these upgraded e-gates are being deployed by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for faster, label-free processing of arrivals and departures, aiming to reduce manual queue times.

“And there is a real drive not just here in the Philippines but around the world to do seamless travel so that you make the process for a traveler as seamless as possible. E-gates not only aid facilitation but also security. So, there’s definitely a drive towards automation,” Ayley said.

Awareness campaigns

Ayley said she is impressed with the efforts of the Philippine government when it comes to protecting the country from backdoor entry and exits, but its awareness campaign still needs to be done.

“Upon talking to the BI Commissioner, he told me that there is a current recruitment to increase the number of officers to alleviate the pressure on the more remote ports of entry and exit. It’s an enormous challenge. But citizens should protect themselves and not just rely on the government to do it for them. You have to take accountability, and we need to be educating ourselves and our children and creating awareness about human trafficking,” she stressed.

Earlier, Viado warned Filipinos against illegal “backdoor” exit schemes amid the continued repatriation of trafficking victims.

The warning follows a report from the agency’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) on the repatriation of a 24-year-old Filipina on 23 March.

The victim arrived at NAIA Terminal 1 via a Hong Kong–Philippines flight from Cambodia.

According to the report, the victim departed the country on 31 May last year via boat from Tawi-Tawi, passing through Sabah, Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur before reaching Phnom Penh and Bavet in Cambodia.