BI will introduce additional technological advancements to facilitate travel

DSG | BI will introduce additional technological advancements to facilitate travel | MANILA – Monday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) promised to bring out more technological improvements to make travel easier.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said, “Our main focus now is really on modernization.”

Even though he hasn’t said what new technologies will be introduced in the next few months, Tansingco said that these will help improve the situation at the country’s borders.

“Technologies really help us manage borders in a more efficient and effective way,” he said.

Tansingco made the statement after the Department of Tourism (DOT) praised one of the BI’s executives for the success of the e-travel system.

The DOT gave Jose Dennis Javier the job of BI Technical Assistant for Border Control Operations. Javier was also the head of the eTravel Sub-Technical Working Group.

Javier was honored with a medal at the 2022 Philippine Tourism Industry Performance and Tourism Satellite Accounts Dissemination Forum on July 5.

According to the BI, the e-travel system, an inter-agency project, made it possible for visitors to use less paper.

“It is a joint project of the agency, the DOT, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Bureau of Quarantine, the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Health, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice, and the National Privacy Commission,” it said.

The BI said that this is a similar method to what is used in advanced countries, which have a single data collection platform for both outbound and inbound travelers.

Earlier, the BI said that if immigration is modernized, staff will have to do less work, which will reduce the chance of cheating.

It also stressed the need for a new rule to be passed so that all digital transactions and services can be fully optimized. (via PNA)