Philippines: passenger data record

Privacy law and the regulator

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 was approved on 15 August 2012 ¹. Section 7 creates the National Privacy Commission as an independent body ¹. Sensitive personal information under Section 3 includes identifiers issued by government agencies to an individual ¹.

Section 4(e) says the Act does not apply to information needed to carry out the functions of public authority, including the mandated functions of law enforcement and regulatory agencies ¹. Section 21 keeps each controller responsible for personal information it transfers to third parties, in the Philippines or abroad ¹.

How APIS works under Executive Order No. 122

Executive Order No. 122, series of 2020, ordered the adoption of an Advance Passenger Information System ². The Department of Justice approved its implementing rules on 25 January 2021 ². The text cited here is a copy of the rules hosted by the University of the Philippines College of Law ².

Under the rules, the captain, owner or agent of an aircraft or vessel arriving in or leaving the Philippines must send API for every passenger and crew member ². Airlines send at aircraft door close ². The data must go electronically and directly to the BI-APIS ².

• Data fields: passport machine-readable zone items, flight details and 17 PNR items, with PNR sent in phases set by a BI technical guide ².
• Access: authorised BI staff on a need-to-know basis, with offsite access banned and reauthorisation every six months ².
• Audit: the BI must audit BI-APIS transactions every month ².
• Retention: up to 12 months from collection, subject to listed exceptions ².
• Sharing: agencies such as the Bureau of Customs, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police and Anti-Terrorism Council may receive data with the Commissioner's prior written authority ².
• Fines: PHP 20,000 to PHP 50,000 per false entry or late submission, plus PHP 50,000 for each unaccounted person ².

Launch with UN goTravel

The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) announced on 20 March 2025 that the Philippines had launched the UN goTravel software ³. UNOCT said the BI obtains passenger data from air carriers and the Department of Justice led the partnership ³. It said the software aims to detect travel by known and suspected terrorists and serious criminals and to safeguard privacy and data protection ³.

As reported by Dianne Sampang of INQUIRER.net on 28 March 2025, Cebu Pacific became the first carrier to fully integrate with APIS ⁴. Philippine Airlines was set to follow, and all airlines will be required to join once the system runs smoothly ⁴. The BI completed a connectivity test with the Interpol I-24/7 database ⁴.

E-gates and eTravel

As reported by Ted Cordero of GMA Integrated News on 22 November 2025, biometric e-gates at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3 combine passport checks with facial recognition ⁵. They are powered by Amadeus and run by the BI, with the first phase scheduled to go live from December 2025 ⁵.

eTravel is described on its official site as the Philippine One-Stop Electronic Travel Declaration System ⁹. The site says it is free and can be completed on the website or the eGovPH app ⁹.

The CAISS border fee proposal

As reported by Iris Gonzales in The Philippine STAR on 28 May 2026, the BI proposed a Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services (CAISS) project ⁷. The report named Securiport LLC as the proponent, with an unnamed local partner, after an unsolicited proposal to the PPP Center in May 2023 ⁷. It described a Build-Train-Maintain-Transfer deal with a 20-year concession and a total cost of P10.7 billion, with no government guarantees or subsidies ⁷. The Department of Justice approved the project on 2 December 2025 ⁷. The BI said the system would be operated by BI personnel within government-controlled networks, with the private partner maintaining it ⁷.

The proposed fee is US$4 per one-way leg, about P240, or US$8 (about P480) for a round trip, built into airline tickets ^7,8. On 2 June 2026 the Palace Press Officer called the fee a mere proposal and said no decision had been made, as reported by Brian Campued of PTV News ⁶. BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado ordered a review and stakeholder consultation ⁶. PhilSTAR Life reported that the review covers safeguards for data privacy and cybersecurity ⁸.

Chronology