At airport immigration counters, machine takes over man

MACHINE’S JOBA traveler tests the new immigration electronic counters at Davao International Airport, a system spurred by senatorial candidate Christopher “Bong” Go’s complaint against too many passengers being dislodged from flights because of too much time spent in immigration areas. —ARJOY M. CENIZA

DAVAO CITY—The man credited with making it happen stood in the crowd at Davao International Airport (DIA) as a traveler passed through a portal, tapped her passport on a machine, waited for seconds and then ended her transaction with an electronic immigration counter.

It was a complaint raised by Christopher “Bong” Go, formerly President Rodrigo Duterte’s most trusted aide and now senatorial candidate, that spurred the transition from man to machine in some parts of immigration areas in airports nationwide.

Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said Go, when he was still in Malacañang, called the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) attention to the rising number of passengers being left behind by their flights because it took too long for them to pass through immigration screening.

Go, according to Morente, “was instrumental in pushing for changes in the practices of BI that will hopefully lead to fewer incidents of passengers” being left behind by their flights or off-loaded.

Go’s action helped the BI “come up with solutions,” Morente said.

Convenience

During the launch of the electronic immigration counter at DIA here, the first in Mindanao, many Filipino workers catching a flight for jobs abroad were told about the convenience of the electronic immigration counter.

Morente said the machine eliminated the need for travelers to present their passports to immigration officers for manual checking.

“All they have to do is to tap their passports on the machine,” he said.

The installation of the electronic immigration portals had reduced passport checking time upon arrival from the usual 45 seconds to just 8 to 15 seconds, he added.

Other electronic immigration portals had also been opened at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 3, Mactan Airport in Cebu province and Clark International Airport in Pampanga province.

Morente said the electronic portals were among the systems that the BI had installed to improve airport services.

Prescreening

Among these was the enforcement of guidelines on pre-screening of passengers so this could be done prior to travelers’ arrival at the airport.

Morente said he had approved the forming of a working group from the BI’s Travel Control and Enforcement Unit to handle prescreening of departing passengers.

Go, who also spoke during the launch of the electronic immigration counter at DIA, said the Duterte administration had been supportive of the modernization program of the BI.

“With this modernization program, we can have a professional BI that can address the current needs of our travelers,” he said.