PH adopts UN border security platform vs criminals, terrorists
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado. Bureau of Immigration Photo
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has become the seventh UN state and the first Southeast Asian country to implement a border security platform designed to detect terrorists and criminals even before arrival.
In a ceremonial launch at the Department of Justice on Thursday, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (Unoct) unveiled the goTravel platform, a UN-owned solution derived from a Dutch portal.
The UN received ownership of the solution on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly and further developed and deployed it to member states.
The platform allows authorities to receive in advance information on passengers and their name records and check it against relevant watch lists.
“Right now, we are reliant on the information provided to us by different governments,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said in a chance interview.
“This system will allow us to receive information in real-time. So even as they board the plane, even while they are still on their way to the Philippines, we will already know whether or not a passenger should be allowed entry,” he explained.
The platform will also enhance cooperation between local and international authorities, giving them the capability to detect and prevent the entry of terrorists and serious criminals while safeguarding personal data and privacy.
Viado said the Philippines joins countries such as Norway, Luxembourg, Georgia, and Botswana in adopting the system, which complies with UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 and 2396.
These resolutions mandate member states to collect and analyze passenger data to help prevent terrorism.
READ: PH launches passenger info systems to track terrorists, fugitives
Phased rollout
As part of its phased rollout, the BI started pilot testing, with Cebu Pacific becoming the first carrier to fully integrate its system with the platform.
Philippine Airlines and other air carriers are expected to follow suit as trials continue.
The BI also reported successful connectivity tests with the databases of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Unoct chief of section Christine Bradley told reporters that the system will help countries identify potential threats while allowing legitimate travelers to move freely across borders.
“So, in the example of Interpol databases, it allows us to detect in advance any red notices or any hits against those databases and then to plan a response on how to address that hit, whether it be to apprehend the person, to place them under surveillance or just to monitor the borders,” she said.
