With just a few weeks before the holiday season, more Filipinos are expected to travel abroad, and transportation officials are preparing for the activation of new biometric immigration e-gates at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) this December.

According to the New NAIA Infrastructure Corporation (NNIC), the e-gates will be operated by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) as part of an automated border control system that utilizes passport scanning and facial recognition technology. The units have been installed in NAIA Terminal 1 and Terminal 3, the airport’s international terminals, where immigration clearance is required.

“Sa mga susunod na araw sa NAIA maglulunsad tayo ng sinasabi nating e-gates,” Transportation Secretary Giovannie Lopez announced in an interview on dzRH's Dos Por Dos on Tuesday.

Lopez said they were grateful to the NNIC and San Miguel CEO Ramon Ang for providing the e-gates at no cost to the government, adding that the project was a result of their public-private partnership.

The DOTr chief said the new system is expected to shorten passenger queues at immigration significantly and complement other improvements within the terminals, including self-check-in facilities.

"Makakatulong ito sa pila not only sa immigration pati na rin yung sinasabi na self check in. Mag-oopen yata ang NNIC ng mga lounges, malamig, libre wifi," he added.

“Sabi nga ng pangulo we have to make sure na ang mga pasahero hindi lang ligtas pero maginhawa din ang kanilang paglalakbay,” Lopez said.

He noted that the e-gates have already undergone time-and-motion testing and are capable of processing a passenger in as fast as 10 seconds.

Earlier, NNIC said the installation is timely, as NAIA handled roughly 50 million passengers last year, exceeding its designed capacity. The new e-gates aim to ease congestion and improve the efficiency of passenger processing.

Land transport and Ports

Lopez also shared updates on land and port transport operations, emphasizing intensified monitoring of taxis and public utility vehicles (PUVs), particularly during the holiday rush.

“Nagsimula tayo magset ng terminal as early as Undas, what we do right now is more on monitoring pero ang tinututukan po namin talaga ngayon ay sa mga taxi, sa mga PUVs ‘yung Oplan Isnabero driver, isasama na natin diya ‘yung mga TNVS na nagkakancel ng booking, medyo rampant na,” he said.

He added that LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza has been directed to study actions on booking cancellations and the deferral of surge pricing—commonly applied by transport network vehicle services during heavy traffic.

The LTFRB’s request to add 17,500 new TNVS units has also been approved. These applications are now being expedited to increase supply and encourage fair competition in pricing.