The Bureau of Immigration urged Filipino vacationers who are now arriving from their long weekend to use the electronic gates in the airports for swift processing, as it can lessen the processing time for the passengers.

According to Commissioner Norman Tansingco on Thursday, the normal 45-second processing time at the airport can be reduced to eight seconds by using e-gates.

Among the 32,045 passengers who arrived at the airports on October 31, the BI said that only 5,210 vacationers utilized the e-gates.

Moreover, the bureau said that the number of passengers could blow to 35,000 after the Undas, saying that it will rise in the next few days.

Tansingco said that they focus on automating all BI services and operations in the airport, adding that when the budget is already approved, they plan to get additional e-gates and replace 50% of their manual operations by 2026.

Meanwhile, the BI now has 21 e-gates distributed in major international airports across the country.