MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Civil Aviation and Immigration Security Services (CAISS) project remains under evaluation, with no final decision reached, Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said on Saturday.
Viado said that it was the same matter which he clarified during the Senate budget deliberations in response to a query from Senate Committee on Finance chair JV Ejercito regarding the project's status.
Affirming the agency's support for modernizing the country's border security system, the BI chief, however, emphasized that this position should not be misconstrued as automatic approval of the proposal or its terms.
Nevertheless, Viado said that he had directed the proponents to conduct public consultations on the project, giving stakeholders the opportunity to voice their concerns and contribute input on CAISS and its proposed terms.
“The feedback gathered from these consultations would be factored into the ongoing evaluation of the proposal,” the top BI official said.
The proponents, according to Viado, must justify the proposed fee, technology, financial structure, and other commercial terms, while the government must independently assess whether these are necessary, reasonable, and in the public interest.
Should the proposal fail to adequately safeguard the interests of the government and the public, "it can be revised, deferred, or ultimately not pursued," Viado said.
"Our primary duty is to protect the interests of the government and the public. We need modernization, but we must first ensure that any agreement is fair, secure, and offers clear benefits to our travelers and to the government," he pointed out.
He reiterated that modernizing Philippine border security remains essential but any proposal must undergo government scrutiny and prove it can deliver the required security and operational improvements under terms that protect both the government and the traveling public.
"Our objective is stronger and more modern border security. Whatever approach is ultimately adopted must be secure, reasonable, and in the public interest," Viado said.
According to BI, CAISS was a proposal by US-based Securiport LLC which requires no direct government capital outlay. Its system seeks to integrate biometrics, advanced data analytics, electronic gates, passenger information systems and electronic travel authorization platform.
