(File photo)
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said all the international airports in the country are expected to register 12,000 arrivals this summer season.
Commissioner Jaime Morente said two weeks following the approval of the national government to allow the entry of fully vaccinated foreign nationals from visa-free countries, the number of arrivals reached over 9,000 per day.
“Now after a month, we’re seeing more than 10,000 arrivals per day,” he said in a statement. “This figure could reach 12,000 or more during the summer season when many foreign nationals flock our tourist destinations to enjoy the tropical weather.”
He said the figures include returning Filipino passengers.
Lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division chief, assured that they are ready to serve the higher number of travelers arriving in the country.
“Our men are on full force, and we have deployed 100 percent of our airport personnel to conduct document inspection for arriving passengers. The e-gates are also fully operational, which would greatly lessen the processing time,” he said.
“We are confident that we will be able to provide immigration services to a higher number of arriving passengers in the next few months,” he added.
Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier said she is hoping the Philippines could fully reopen its doors to more foreign tourists by April of this year.
"Right now, (the Philippines is) only for 157 visa-free countries but we are hoping that by April, we will be open to all foreigners,” she said in a television interview.
She said the recommendation to limit leisure travelers for visa-free countries, an easing of restriction that started last February 10, came from the Department of Foreign Affairs. (PNA)
