The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said it deployed enough personnel in Philippine airports to accommodate the increased number of international travelers this holiday season, a spokesperson said Monday.

“May mga dineploy tayo na mga karagdagang personnel na kinuha mula sa ibang mga opisina ng BI to augment 'yung manpower sa ating airports. Bukod pa dyan, we also have this new batch of immigration officers na nakatutulong po sa pagproseso ng mga bumibiyahe ngayong season,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said during a televised briefing.

“Meron din tayong tinalaga na rapid response team na agad po nating pwedeng i-deploy kung sakaling kailangan natin ng additional na tao, and of course, 'yung e-gates natin fully functional po 'yan para nagagamit ng mga bumibiyahe,” she continued.

While longer waiting times may be expected due to the high volume of flights and passengers, the BI official gave assurances that processing times at immigration counters are still up to international standards.

“What we can assure the public is mabilis po at kahit sabay-sabay ang flights at limited ang espasyo ng ating mga paliparan, mabilis po ang ating processing time. Sumusunod tayo sa international processing time na 45 seconds per person, at ISO certified po tayo proving na within standards ang ating processing,” Sandoval said.

She added that immigration e-gates also help to significantly reduce the processing of immigration clearances up to 8 seconds per person.

The BI recorded this Christmas weekend some 30,000 daily international passengers as more Filipinos return home to celebrate the holidays with their families.

"Noong bisperas ng Kapaskuhan, pumalo sa around 32,000 ang total arrivals natin--karamihan doon ay nag-land sa NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport). Ang dumating naman noong December 25, ay 29,968 katao. For departures naman, 22,248 noong Christmas eve, at 27,934 for Christmas day. At ito ay significantly higher than the last two years,” Sandoval said.

The BI meanwhile expects the high volume of passengers to continue until after the New Year’s celebration.

“Ang prediction natin all the way until New Year medyo mataas ang ating arrivals, dahil nag-uuwian ang mga kababayan natin sa kanilang mga pamilya para dito sila mag-celebrate ng Kapaskuhan at Bagong Taon. Usually, pagpalo ng Bagong Taon, 'yung departures naman ang tumataas dahil karaniwan po ng mga kababayan natin na mga nakadeploy, at 'yung mga OFWs natin bumabalik na po sa mga bansang pinanggalingan nila,” Sandoval said.