What You Can Bring on a Plane in the Philippines: Liquids, Power Banks and the New 10 kg Rule

The problem at a Philippine airport is rarely the big rule. It is the small one you forgot: the bottle that is 150 ml, the third power bank, the lighter in the jacket pocket. Four rules cover almost every hold-up. Liquids go in 100 ml bottles inside one clear 1 liter bag. Power banks travel in the cabin, two at most, 100 Wh or less. Lighters do not travel at all. And the cabin weight depends on the airline, which changed for Cebu Pacific on 15 September 2026.

Liquids: the 100 ml rule

• Every liquid, gel, cream or aerosol in your hand carry must be in a container of 100 ml or less, even if the bottle is partly empty.
• All of them go in one clear, resealable bag of no more than 1 liter, 20 x 20 cm or 25 x 15 cm. One bag per passenger, taken out at screening.
• Baby milk and formula over 100 ml are allowed if you declare them at the checkpoint.
• Cebu Pacific also caps you at 10 liquid containers.
• No airport in the country has lifted the rule with new scanners. Plan on it everywhere.

Power banks: two, small, in reach

Since late March 2026 the international rule is two power banks per passenger and no recharging them in flight, and all three Philippine airlines now enforce it. Up to 100 Wh is fine; 100 to 160 Wh needs the airline’s approval; over 160 Wh is banned. Power banks never go in checked bags. To find the rating, multiply the mAh by the voltage and divide by 1,000: a 10,000 mAh bank at 3.7 V is 37 Wh. Unlabeled or damaged units can be refused.

Never in either bag

Lighters are banned from both hand carry and checked baggage under the Office for Transportation Security’s prohibited items list, which classes them as incendiary. So are fuel, butane, flammable liquids and solids, spray paint, pepper spray, fireworks and bleach. Flammable, corrosive and toxic liquids are out at any size.

Cabin weight by airline

The Cebu Pacific limit applies per flight leg and depends on the flight number, not the booking date: 5J flights get 10 kg, Cebgo’s DG flights stay at 7 kg. Wheels and handles count toward the size.

Food, pasalubong and lechon

Dried fish, bagoong, lechon and fruit are a question for two people: your airline and the country you are landing in. No current airline page lists a Philippine domestic food ban, but strong-smelling food can be refused at the gate, and many countries restrict meat and fresh produce at arrival. Seal it well, check the airline, and check the destination’s customs page for international flights.

The reset before you leave home

• Liquids out of the bag and into one 1 liter clear pouch, every bottle 100 ml or less.
• Count the power banks. Two, labeled, in your pocket or day bag.
• Empty jacket pockets for lighters.
• Weigh both cabin pieces together. Check your flight number for the airline code.
• Pack an empty water bottle and fill it after security.

Related guides

For the fees you pay on international departures, see travel tax and terminal fees. Arriving or leaving the country also needs eTravel. Going by sea instead, the ferry baggage rules are different. And for the airport itself, the Mactan-Cebu airport guide.

Once the bag is sorted, Mactan is the easy part. The CEB Airport tee is for the people who know the code.

Suroy Wear · Global Collection

CEB.

For everyone who flies home through Mactan. Made in Cebu. ₱1,299.

Wear the story

Frequently asked questions