CAISS, Securiport and the proposed border system

What CAISS would cover

The Bureau of Immigration project memorandum describes CAISS as an end-to-end border control platform. Its four broad areas are civil infrastructure, technical infrastructure, border process management and analytics ¹.

The proposed scope covers 11 international airports, one international seaport and six mobile border crossing stations. The private partner would finance, build, train and maintain the system. BI officers would remain responsible for immigration work under the proposed structure ¹.

The platform specification covers advance passenger information, passenger name records, entry and exit events, biometric identity checks, watchlist screening, traveller risk assessment, secondary inspection support and reporting. It calls for live access to core records for at least five years and backups for at least ten years, subject to BI or government policy ¹.

Who Securiport is

Securiport LLC is a privately owned United States company based in Reston, Virginia. On its own website, the company says it designs border control and civil aviation security systems using passenger screening, biometrics and data analytics. These are company statements, not an independent government finding ⁷.

The company says its CAISS model has been used with foreign governments. A company statement from January 2020 said Securiport signed a CAISS contract with the Central African Republic and transferred a border system to Equatorial Guinea after a decade. The statement presents the company's account of those projects ⁸.

Why Securiport is the original proponent

Securiport submitted the CAISS proposal through the PPP Center in May 2023. BI conducted a detailed evaluation and negotiated with the company. BI then sent the project to the Department of Justice, which approved it on 2 December 2025 for the next procurement stage ¹.

This route is called an unsolicited proposal. A private company brings a project idea to government without first responding to a government request for bids. Approval of the project terms does not end competition. The law requires a comparative challenge, in which qualified firms can offer a competing proposal and the original proponent has a right to match the best competing financial offer ².

The BI published the challenge in February 2026. Its 18 May notice records that no challenger submitted qualification documents by the deadline ³. That fact explains why Securiport remained the only proponent in the published process. It is not a final award or a finding that no other firm could provide the service.

Cost, user fee and contract model

The approved project cost in the BI memorandum is ₱10,744,100,033.50. The document says the private partner would finance the project and recover its investment from user fees charged to arriving and departing travellers. The proposed term is 20 years ¹.

BI later described the proposed user fee as USD 4, about ₱247. On 2 June 2026 Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said the proposal was not signed or final. He ordered review of whether the charge was necessary, reasonable and supported by measurable traveller benefits ⁵.

The project document calls the model Build-Train-Maintain-Transfer. It requires training and a handover plan, with operating documents and possible source-code escrow at the end of the contract. The public memorandum does not publish a signed PPP agreement, since BI says no final decision exists ^1,4.

The stated case for the project

BI says the country needs stronger border modernization to address transnational crime, human trafficking, terrorism and new security threats. The June review statement says CAISS proposes biometric systems, real-time risk assessment, data integration and automated border controls ⁵.

The project memorandum sets performance goals for continuous border processing, identity continuity across travel documents and faster access to information for BI officers. The system would connect passenger information, entry and exit records, watchlists and risk results in one platform ¹.

On 24 September 2026 Viado told a Senate budget hearing that BI supports modernization, but said that support is not automatic approval of this proposal or its terms. He said the fee, technology, financial structure and commercial terms still had to be justified ⁴.

The official concerns on record

House Resolution 1064, filed by Representative Edgar Erice on 1 June 2026, asks for an inquiry into the proposed fee, private participation in border functions, data privacy and national-security risks. The resolution remains pending with the House Committee on Justice. It records concerns for investigation, not findings against BI or Securiport ⁶.

BI's response leaves the outcome open. Viado said public consultations should inform the continuing evaluation and that the project could be revised, deferred or not pursued if it did not protect government and public interests ⁴.

The official record supports two points at once. The project passed DOJ approval for comparative challenge on 2 December 2025 ¹. BI still says it has no final decision as of 24 September 2026 ⁴. Project approval, award, contract signing and implementation are separate steps.