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5 major PH airports go high-tech with e-gates

Five major airports in the Philippines are set to have electronic gate system or e-gate before 2018 ends.

One of which is the Davao International Airport in Davao where Bureau of Immigration (BI) already installed two e-gates on October 31, Wednesday, reported Rappler.

At least a dozen of Filipinos, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), were delighted to be the first batch to use the e-gate in the Davao airport. Eva Pichon, a vacationing OFW from Hong Kong, even exclaimed: “Yes, we’re now high-tech!”

The country’s main gateway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, was the first one to have e-gates, particularly in NAIA terminals 2 and 3, in October.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the system cuts the processing time to just 15 seconds, which can decongest immigration arrival counters since the volume of international flights in the country are increasing.

The installation of e-gates is part of the Php329-million project funded by the government.

By the end of the year, BI targets to install a total of 21 e-gates in the airports in the Philippines, including Clark International Airport and the newly-opened Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

The Bureau hopes to have all airports in the Philippines installed with e-gates soon.

Pichon did not succeed on her first try, but it was more because she failed to follow the proper procedure.

For the e-Gates to properly function:
– The user has to first scan the boarding pass before scanning the page, where the basic information on the passport holder are found.
– This would open the first exit door and the passenger would then put his or her index finger on the second scanner while looking at the camera.
– The screen would then flash “Maligayang Pagdating sa Pilipinas” while the second exit gate opens.
– The cleared passenger would then pick up his or her sticker pass and leave the immigration counter.
– The airport here, also known as the Davao International Airport, was among 5 major airports the Bureau of Immigration would be installing e-Gates in. Currently, two of these were installed here.

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