The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday said the Philippines saw a 40-percent increase in arrivals in February compared with January.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the increase was seen after the country reopened its borders on Feb. 10.
According to Morente, the total number of arriving passengers increased to 211,899 from 150,740 in January.
“This is also more than 130-percent higher than the 91 thousand passenger arrivals in February of 2021,” Morente said.
BI port operations chief Carlos Capulong said that among the more than 211,899 arriving passengers in February, 154,661 were returning Filipinos.
“Seventy-two percent of those who arrived last February were returning Filipinos. This is followed by Americans with 21,383 arrivals, Canadians with 4,026 and British with 3,250,” Capulong said.
The Philippines opened its borders to travelers for business and leisure purposes on Feb. 10. John Ezekiel J. Hirro