Is the P480 immigration fee justified?

The Bureau of Immigration (BI)’s planned new border security system can rake in as much as P14 billion in its first year of operations alone from user fees of P480 charged per passenger on round-trip international travel.

This piece is a follow-up to my column on Tuesday, “Immigration to charge passengers P480,” which was about the BI’s Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services (CAISS) project.

The bulk of the P14 billion would go to the private sector proponent, Securiport LLC, and not to state coffers.

I computed the amount based on the recorded number of international passengers last year – 29 million, including both inbound and outbound travelers who flew on both foreign and domestic carriers, according to data from the Civil Aeronautics Board.

The estimated $8 or P480 user fee (computed at P60 to the dollar) per international passenger traveling round-trip, multiplied by last year’s figure of 29 million passengers, translates to P13.9 billion in revenue.

Computed using just $4 or P240 for a one-way international trip, this translates to P6.9 billion.

The bulk of the amount, however, will go to the private sector proponent of the planned PPP project and not to the government.

As detailed in the BI’s Project Information Memorandum for its revenue sharing:

Securiport’s share of the $4: $3.80 per traveler or P228 per passenger per international trip.

BI share of the $4: $0.20 or P12 per passenger per international trip.

Let’s break this down further:

At P228 per passenger per trip, Securiport would rake in P6.6 billion in annual revenue or P13.2 billion for both inbound and outbound journeys.

At P12 per passenger per trip, the BI would generate P348 million in annual revenue or P696 million for round trips, based on the 2025 international passenger count.

Imagine that – that’s P13.2 billion a year for the private sector proponent alone.

Including the BI’s share, that’s total annual revenue of P14 billion from the project.

And yet, the total project cost is P10.7 billion, which is below the estimated revenue of P14 billion.

“Investment recovery is through a user fee of $4 per international traveler, built into airline ticket costs. The concession period is 20 years from commercial operations, after which the assets are transferred to the government,” the BI said in its document on the project.

Based on my computation above, this means the private sector proponent would recover the total project cost of P10.7 billion in the first year of operations alone as it would rake in P13.2 billion in revenue.

Against this backdrop, the question begs to be asked: is the P480 user fee (per round-trip international passenger) justified?

As I said in my previous column, the CAISS could potentially be a good project.

After all, who doesn’t want improved security at our borders? We can prevent the entry of illegal aliens and the escape of high-profile fugitives.

But for a project to recover its cost in the first year or even in a span of two to three years, I argue that the $4 user fee is too high. Perhaps, the fee could be reduced to a more reasonable amount.

I also can’t help but wonder if President Marcos is aware of this project. Is he aware that arriving and departing international travelers to and from the Philippines, including Filipinos, will again be slapped with another burden on top of the travel tax and other travel expenses?

Ninoy Aquino International Airport

I also wonder if NAIA would be covered by the $4 user fee.

I ask this because NAIA already has quite a number of e-gates, which the new NAIA operator, New NAIA Infra Corp., procured and put in place in December last year. I know because I’ve experienced this during my travels (although unfortunately, my passport could not be read by the e-gates).

If that is the case, what will BI do with the relatively new e-gates at NAIA? How about in other airports in the country? Are there systems already in place?

And so I ask again – is the $4 user fee reasonable?

Data privacy

I also can’t help but be wary about the fact that a private and foreign entity would have access to our personal data and biometrics, etc.

Here’s a briefer on the project, as I earlier wrote:

The project stemmed from an unsolicited proposal submitted by Securiport LLC through the PPP Center of the Philippines in May 2023.

The Department of Justice, the designated approving body under Republic Act 11966 or the PPP Code, approved the project on Dec. 2, 2025.

“The CAISS is a significant upgrade to the Bureau’s border management capabilities in many years. It combines advanced biometric systems and physical security infrastructure under a single integrated platform, all operated by Bureau personnel within government-controlled networks and maintained throughout the contract life by the private partner.”

The BI said the Build-Train-Maintain-Transfer project is necessary because its border management infrastructure requires a fundamental upgrade.

Its current hardware systems are no longer as efficient, the BI also said. Furthermore, its capability to run real-time biometric checks, cross-reference international watchlists or conduct meaningful advance passenger analysis is not at par with the most efficient border control systems globally.

But as I earlier pointed out, is $4 (P240, one way) or $8 (P480, two-way) really justified for a service the government is mandated to provide?

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.