Marcos Jr. plans facial recognition e-gates at airports

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced plans to introduce electronic gates with facial recognition capabilities at Philippine airports during his visit to Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 on Tuesday.

The President emphasized that these new e-gates will require only a passenger's face for identification, eliminating the need for passports or other IDs, making travel faster and more convenient.

Ramon Ang, chairman of the New NAIA Infra Corp (NNIC), stated that the biometric and facial recognition systems are expected to be operational within six months at no additional cost to the government or travelers.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon noted that while the numbers are still being fine-tuned, the priority is on installing these systems in Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 of NAIA.

The President's initiative follows his order last month for the Justice department to increase the number of Immigration e-gates at airports to facilitate travel for local and foreign travelers.