Pimentel backs unified ID system for PWDs amid 8.5 million fake ID cards in circulation
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III has expressed his support for the National Council on Disability Affairs’ (NCDA) push to implement a unified identification (ID) system for persons with disabilities (PWDs), a measure aimed at addressing the misuse of disability IDs.
The NCDA’s proposed system seeks to eliminate the fraudulent issuance of PWD ID cards to unqualified individuals.
It also aims to uphold the provisions of Republic Act No. 10754, ensuring the protection of benefits and privileges granted to persons with disabilities.
Pimentel emphasized the need to maximize government resources to achieve this goal.
“Use computers. The government has been spending billions on computerization. Their use must be felt by the people,” he said in a statement.
The opposition leader also stressed the urgency of adopting the unified system.
“Benefits that are only for the truly disabled should not be abused. A unified PWD ID system is important for laws to be implemented properly and help those who are really in need,” he added.
He also said that a unified ID could safeguard the integrity of PWD benefits and ensure fair access for qualified individuals.
Lost revenues
According to a recent Senate hearing, the government is losing billions of dollars in tax revenue because of the proliferation and unscrupulous use of fake PWD IDs.
Citing data gathered by the Senate committee on ways and means, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said that in 2023 alone, the government lost P88.2 billion.
“In terms of tax leakage, system-wide—meaning the government plus the establishments—it’s about P110 billion. This means P110 billion was supposed to go to the government, but P88 billion of that is illegitimate because the source is obviously from illegitimate or fake PWD cards,” he said.
“The use of fake PWD IDs has robbed the national government of revenues it could have collected if not for the VAT-exemption and PWD discounts given to unqualified individuals,” he pointed out.
Gatchalian earlier filed Senate Resolution No. 1239 in an effort to determine the effects on the government’s tax collection of the leakage caused by the proliferation of fake PWD IDs, “so we can craft the necessary legislation or policy recommendations.”
Data from the Department of Health showed that as of November 2024, there are 1.8 million registered PWDs in the country.
But Gatchalian said that based on the committee’s estimates, there are 8.5 million fake PWD IDs circulating in the country, or almost five times the legitimate ones.
