As criminal networks become more sophisticated and borderless, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida called for the urgent modernization of the country’s border security, saying it is no longer optional but a national imperative.
“Criminal networks do not respect territorial boundaries; our response therefore must equally be sophisticated, coordinated and forward-looking. Modernization is no longer an option. It is an imperative,” Vida said during the Bureau of Immigration’s (BI) 86th anniversary celebration on September 11.
Vida said the Philippines faces increasingly complex border threats, including transnational organized crime, human trafficking, terrorism, illegal recruitment, document fraud, identity theft, and other forms of cross-border criminality.
As an attached agency of the Department of Justice (DOJ), the BI is advancing reforms aligned with the administration’s digital transformation agenda and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to accelerate the digitization and modernization of government services.
Vida said border management must keep pace with evolving security threats while ensuring efficient and secure immigration processes for legitimate travelers.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the bureau’s achievements over the past year should serve as the foundation for deeper institutional reforms.
He emphasized the need for the BI to continuously evolve through technology, digitalization, stronger border intelligence, and more efficient immigration processes.
“The journey ahead has already begun, but the road ahead will require more than accomplishments. It will require us to remain focused on our mission while constantly looking toward the bureau we aspire to become,” Viado said.
He also described modernization as a lasting legacy that today’s BI personnel can build for an institution that has served the country for 86 years.
“Modernization is a legacy we can commit to an institution that has existed for 86 years,” he said.
The BI said its 86th anniversary highlights its continuing transformation into a modern border management institution that facilitates legitimate travel while strengthening its mandate to protect the country’s borders and national security.
Viado earlier told the House of Representatives during deliberations on the DOJ’s proposed 2027 budget that modernization is essential to strengthening border control.
A proposed ₱10.74-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project is currently under review by the Department of Finance, the Office of the Solicitor General, and the PPP Center.
The proposal, under a build-train-maintain-transfer scheme, seeks to deploy an integrated border security platform across 11 airports and border entry points to help combat human trafficking, smuggling, terrorism, money laundering, tax evasion, and organized crime.
The project also includes system upgrades every four years over a 20-year period at no cost to the government.
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