Despite the emergence of Covid-19 Omicron variant, designated as a new variant of concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bureau of Immigration said it remains optimistic that the number of arriving passengers would continue to increase for the holiday season.
In a news statement, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente noted that 85 percent of arrivals during the first day of December were Filipinos, mostly overseas Filipino workers and balikbayans.
“Of the more than 6,000 arrivals during the first day of December, majority are Filipinos. While the numbers remain relatively low, we expect it to slowly rise as we near Christmas and New Year,” he said.
A total of 152,000 passengers arrived in the country during the entire month of December last year.
“We see that domestic travel is, little by little, bouncing back, and we see the same coming soon for the international travel sector,” Morente noted.
Morente assured that the agency has put in place several measures to meet the expected influx of arrivals in the coming days.
The BI noted that Filipino passengers may now pass through the e-gates installed at the immigration arrival areas of all three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) and at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Pampanga, which prioritize arriving OFWs.
Morente earlier ordered the reopening of the e-gates in time for the Christmas holiday break when an influx of international travelers is anticipated.
The e-gates were relaunched as part of the measures to speed up immigration processing for returning Filipinos.
The BI earlier said that the e-gates cut the processing time for passengers from the present 45 seconds to as low as eight seconds.
Launched in August 2018, the BI’s e-gates were in operation until March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic hit countries around the world, including the Philippines, prompting the agency to suspend the scheme.
The BI said the e-gates were temporarily suspended particularly due to fears that passengers using the these gates could be infected by the virus as the scheme requires passengers to have their fingers biometrically scanned by machines before they could pass through. Aside from the reopening of the e-gates, the BI said it has barred frontline personnel from filing vacation leaves during the holiday season and additional immigration officers have also been hired to augment manpower. 30