Every time a major infrastructure project announces a new user fee, the public outcry is predictable and immediate. The Skyway project was mocked, despised and protested when toll collections began.

Today, the proposed P240 immigration user fee for airport security and border control modernization faces the same wave of criticism. History, however, teaches us a valuable lesson: what feels like a burden at first often proves to be priceless progress.

PPP projects exist because governments cannot bear the full financial burden of large-scale infrastructure. The private sector brings capital, efficiency, and innovation, but with one non-negotiable condition — the investment must be recovered. User fees are the primary mechanism for this recovery. Without them, private companies would have no incentive to invest billions in projects that serve the public good.

Under the user-pay model, only those who use the service pay for its construction and maintenance. Why should a farmer in Mindanao pay taxes for a Skyway they’ll never drive? Why should my auntie, who runs a sari-sari store and has never set foot on a plane, subsidize a biometric scanner? This way, the burden falls squarely on us travelers. If we want speed, safety, and stress-free check-in, we chip in.

When the Skyway began toll collections in July 2021, critics lambasted the fees as excessive and exclusionary. Motorists complained about traffic chaos, technical glitches, and the sheer audacity of being charged for what they felt should be a public good. Some even dubbed it a “gold mine” exploiting the public.

Yet today, millions cannot imagine living without it. The Skyway has slashed travel times between north and south Manila from hours to minutes. It has provided predictable, reliable travel options in a metropolis infamous for gridlock. What was once despised is now depended upon. The P400-plus end-to-end toll fee may seem steep, but the alternative — hours lost in traffic, productivity destroyed, and quality of life diminished — is far costlier.

The airport security fee is another Skyway in the making. The proposed P240 user fee faces the same reflexive opposition. Critics argue it will deter travelers and burden overseas Filipino workers. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged a careful review, warning of its impact on tourism.

But consider what this fee buys. The P10.74-billion Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services project will deploy advanced biometric systems, real-time risk assessment, data integration and automated border control across 11 airports. It will combat transnational crimes, human trafficking, terrorism, and emerging security threats.

The private partner will finance, build, and maintain the system at no cost to the government, recovering its investment solely through the user fee. Otherwise, they’ll simply pack up and leave us with manual queues forever.

Is P240 — roughly the cost of a decent meal — too high a price for stronger border security, faster processing, and peace of mind? The alternative is taxpayer-funded modernization, meaning everyone pays for a service only travelers use. Or worse, no modernization at all, leaving the Philippines vulnerable and our airports outdated.

Every major PPP user fee faces an initial storm of criticism. The Skyway weathered it and emerged as proof of what private investment and user funding can achieve. The airport security fee will follow the same trajectory. The benefits — faster, safer, more efficient services — are tangible improvements that enhance daily life.

It stings to pull out extra cash right now. It stung to pay to cruise the Skyway at first too. But give it time. In a few years, we’ll tap our phones, breeze through those automated gates, and the old manual lanes will be like relics of the Stone Age. We’ll probably complain about something else, but this airport fee? It will just become the quiet price of a smooth, safe journey.

In hindsight, the P240 fee is not a burden at all. It’s simply an investment — money spent on something bigger than ourselves, so our kids won’t have to endure the same airport nightmares we did.

Just like the Skyway and other PPP projects, it will be criticized today and celebrated tomorrow. In a few years, when we’re breezing through immigration, we’ll look back and laugh at our initial panic.