New system to give DOJ automatic access to plane passengers’ personal data

In order to determine the "bad guys" from the "good guys," the government will implement later this year a new system that will give the Department of Justice (DOJ) automatic access to additional information on plane passengers.

Under the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS), the DOJ and its attached agency, the Bureau of Immigration (BI), can get the personal data that a passenger supplies to a travel agency or airline company upon booking a flight.

“Dadaan ka pa rin sa counter but it will be much faster kasi malalaman na namin kung sino talaga ang good guys at bad guys even before they arrive at the airport, so mas mabilis,” said BI Commissioner Siegfred Mison in an interview aired on GMA News' “24 Oras” Tuesday.



The APIS is already used in other countries to prevent terrorism in the wake of attacks carried out by international travelers.

Mison said the new system will improve the screening time for passengers leaving from or arriving at the airport.

“The bad guys will require greater scrutiny, the bad guys will have longer interviews. All the rest ay mabilis na. Instead of one minute [screening time] we're looking at maybe 30 seconds,” he said.

DOJ Assistant Secretary Geronimo Sy said APIS will also help the agency in monitoring the arrival and departure of people who may have pending cases or previous criminal records.

Security concerns

The Tourism Congress of the Philippines, a private sector body working closely with the Department of Tourism, and some travel agencies and airline companies have expressed support for APIS, the “24 Oras” report said.

However, the Tourism Congress also raised some concern about privacy and the confidentiality of the data that the government will collect from them.

“Sino ang magkokolekta ng data? Sino ang gagamit ng data? At sino ang mag pro-protect ng data? How secure is the site that holds all of the information? At kanino shine-share yung data? Para yung information naman ay hindi basta-bastang kung saan mapupunta,” said Tourism Congress executive vice president Aileen Clemente.

Shortage of BI personnel

DOJ's Sy said that aside from security, the APIS also aims to address the shortage of BI counters and personnel at the country's airports.

“Since may constraint nga na kulang sa counters, what we can do is make the counter process faster, so parang nagdagdag ka rin ng counters not physically but virtually, process-wise,” said Sy.

The BI is under the supervision of the DOJ. The DOJ said the implementation of APIS may no longer require a legislation from Congress, but merely an executive order from the President. — Elizabeth Marcelo/KBK/YA, GMA News