The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has signed a contract to expand and upgrade its electronic gates, or e-gates, which will be deployed at international airports outside Metro Manila starting in 2026.
In a news release, BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the agreement was officially entered into on December 22, 2025, and covers the procurement of upgraded e-gates as part of the agency’s Bagong Immigration program.
The project aims to ease congestion at immigration counters by automating parts of the clearance process, allowing passengers to pass through electronic gates instead of manual inspection.
“With the aid of advanced technology, our immigration officers are able to perform mission-critical functions more effectively. Automation allows us to focus our personnel on higher-level assessment and enforcement, while routine processing becomes faster and more accurate,” Viado said.
The upgraded system will integrate Automated Biometric Identification Systems, or ABIS, a technology that uses fingerprints and facial recognition to help verify identities more accurately and flag individuals on alert lists or linked to questionable activities.
The BI said expanding e-gates beyond Metro Manila will help regional international airports meet global standards in border control and passenger processing, with more details on rollout schedules and covered airports to be announced in 2026.
