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Passengers flock to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City on March 27, 2024. An influx of passengers is anticipated as many head to the provinces for the Holy Week weekend. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

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Holy Week Travel

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) plan to collect $4 or around P250 for every passenger bound to and from international destinations has yet to be approved, the Malacañang said on Tuesday.This statement comes after criticisms of the government’s project that would technically pass the burden of modernizing its equipment to ordinary travelers.Under the Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services (CAISS) project, the BI will be authorized to infuse additional fees into ticket costs to fund its P10.74-billion Build-Train-Maintain-Transfer (BTMT) modernization plan for 11 airports, 1 seaport and 6 mobile border crossing stations in the Philippines.“Sa ngayon po ito ay proposal pa lamang po according to [Immigration] Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado so wala pa po itong anumang desisyon, wala pa pong nararating ito. Ito ay mere proposal,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters.“Huwag natin munang pangunahan inaral pa po. So, huwag muna tayong maalarma wala pa po ito,” she said.While contracts for the multi-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project have yet to be signed, the Department of Justice has already approved the proposal on December 2, 2025, according to documents from the Immigration bureau.As of May 18, 2026, the BI has already issued its Bid Bulletin No. 8, announcing to the public that “shall proceed with the remaining procurement activities, including the finalization and approval of the draft PPP Contract.”The CAISS project covers the installation of “an integrated platform that accurately identifies” passengers and “screens them against relevant threat databases, and records their movement within seconds” in the following gateways:- Ninoy Aquino International Airport- Clark International Airport- Davao International Airport- Mactan-Cebu International Airport- Boracay Airport- Iloilo International Airport- Kalibo International Airport- Laoag International Airport- Bohol-Panglao International Airport- Puerto Princesa International Airport- Zamboanga International Airport- Zamboanga International Seaport- 6 border crossing stations Under the agreement, selected private partners shall also “provide preventive maintenance for software, hardware, infrastructure” as well as maintenance services for “incident detection, ticket logging, on-site and remote support, replacement equipment, among others.”The BI enjoys a P5.38 billion budget under the 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Of this amount, P1.81 billion is allocated for its capital outlay that the agency can use to “acquire, upgrade, or maintain physical and long-term assets,” according to data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).In 2025, the BI had a bigger capital outlay budget amounting to P2.91 billion or nearly half of the agency’s P5.79 billion fund last year.

The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) plan to collect $4 or around P250 for every passenger bound to and from international destinations has yet to be approved, the Malacañang said on Tuesday.

The Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) plan to collect $4 or around P250 for every passenger bound to and from international destinations has yet to be approved, the Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Malacañang says BI’s plan to charge P240 add’l fee for int’l passengers a ‘mere proposal’

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Malacañang says BI’s plan to charge P240 add’l fee for int’l passengers a ‘mere proposal’

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 02, 2026 05:11 PM PHT

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Bureau of Immigration

BI

Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services

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