MANILA — President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has officially institutionalized the eTravel information system to streamline travel procedures for all international passengers and crew members entering and leaving the Philippines. The move aims to enhance border control, health surveillance, and travel-related administrative tasks through a unified digital platform.
According to Philippines News Agency, signed on August 27 and first disclosed this Saturday in a local publication, the eTravel system will function as the primary electronic travel declaration system in the country. “It shall be used by the government to efficiently conduct border control, health surveillance, tourism statistics analysis, and other travel-related procedures,” the order stated.
The order also establishes a technical working group (TWG) to oversee the implementation and operation of the eTravel system. The TWG will be chaired by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and co-chaired by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), with members including representatives from the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), and Bureau of Customs (BOC).
All relevant government entities are required to cooperate fully with the TWG to ensure the successful deployment and operation of the eTravel system. The initial funding for this initiative will be sourced from the current budgets of the DICT, BI, DOT, DMW, DOTr, BOQ, and BOC, adhering to standard budgeting, accounting, and auditing regulations.
The eTravel system was initially launched on December 5, 2022, as a unified platform for collecting digital data from international inbound passengers. The system’s scope was expanded on April 15, 2023, to include all international travelers, both inbound and outbound, as well as crew members. AO 24, which mandates the continued implementation of the eTravel system, takes effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.