The Philippines runs one electronic travel declaration for everyone crossing its border. The government’s most recent public notice about it is a scam warning.
What eTravel is
The Bureau of Immigration describes it as “the single data collection platform for arriving and departing passengers.” The notice says nothing more about how it works.
It is free
“The eTravel registration process is absolutely free of charge.” The Bureau says so because of “scammers who operate websites that charge and collect fees as purported payments for registering in the government’s electronic travel declaration system known as eTravel.” Its notice warns the traveling public against them directly.
Register at one domain
The Bureau’s advice: “We, therefore, advise the traveling public to register only in the government’s official website at https://etravel.gov.ph.” A site on any other domain that charges a fee is not authorised by the government.
Reporting a fake site
The Bureau directs people who find fraudulent eTravel sites “to report them to the cybercrime investigation and coordinating center (CICC) via its website at https://cicc.gov.ph/report/.”
What the notice leaves out
The notice does not say how far ahead of travel to register, what the form collects, or what happens at the airport if you arrive unregistered. Check the registration process at etravel.gov.ph for those.