Published in its print edition on May 31 – June 6, 2025
AS the country looks forward, the action of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in releasing about P1.347-billion to support the ongoing implementation of the Electronic Gates (E-gates) Project for 2025 in major international gateways across the country is a laudable move.
Hats off to Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman as the project modernizes and digitizes the primary inspection process at the country’s international gateways to further strengthen national security, improve efficiency, and elevate the overall experience of passengers while addressing issues of immigration congestion.
The system is very vital as E-gates are automated passport control systems that use biometric technology, such as facial recognition or fingerprint scanning, to verify the identity of travelers.
Providing convenience to travelers, whether locals or foreign visitors, and reducing long queues at immigration counters are among the priority to be acted by the Marcos administration.
Just last year, the DBM released P2 billion to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for the procurement of equipment for Phase 1 of the project.
The Phase 3 will be by 2026 and by that time the first and second phases are in full-blast.
The procurement process for this year must be fast-tracked to have a fully operational international gateways across the country.#
