A total of 172,432 passenger arrivals, majority of whom are Filipinos, were recorded during this month, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Monday.
The latest data from the BI showed that 141,216 Filipinos arrived during the holiday season, many of which are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), followed by Americans with 12,455, Canadians with 2,805, and Japanese with 1,645 while the remainder is composed of other nationalities.
Commissioner Jaime Morente said most of those who arrived are balikbayans coming home to their families in the Philippines to spend Christmas and New Year.
“This is expected since many of our kababayans who are now living abroad wish to spend the holidays here with their families,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, BI Port Operations Division chief Carlos Capulong said the arrivals this year for December 24 and 25 doubled compared to last year’s figures.
“Last year, there were only 5,478 arrivals for the two days, while this year, it increased 100 percent to 11,074 for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” he added.
Capulong also acknowledged immigration officers who were on duty during for the holiday season.
“Our officers sacrifice their time with their families to render their duty and provide service for incoming and outgoing passengers,” he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency