NATIONWIDE DAILY ARRIVALS ALMOST 60K A DAY

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) said that nationwide daily arrivals rose significantly during December.

Figures released by the BI show that arrivals increased from around 50k during the first week of December to almost 60k during Christmas week.

On December 1, the BI recorded 51,390 arrivals in all international airports of the country. The figure rose to 59,541 on December 22 and 58,993 on December 23.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco shared that more than 85% of passengers arrive via the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The BI chief also shared that they recorded a total of 31,408 departures on December 23, far from the 25,759 processed on the first day of December.

He assured travelers that they are always fully manned, and have deployed rapid response teams and augmentation teams to ensure efficient immigration processing.

Tansingco also urged arriving Filipinos to use the e-gates for faster immigration clearance.

He reminded passengers to register via the etravel portal at etravel.gov.ph at least 72 hours prior to arrival or departure from the country.

Meanwhile, Tansingco lauded immigration officers who remain on duty during the holiday season.

“All hands on deck for our immigration officers,” said Tansingco.

“We commend our frontline personnel who remain on duty and sacrifice time with their families during the holidays to be able to service the traveling public,” he added.