Erin Devanadera 

The Senate committee has found a vast documentation of an approximate number of 8,535,141 illegal PWD cards distributed across the Philippines leading to ₱88 billion loss of government taxes on December 5.

Photo Courtesy of Inquirer.net/Philippine Star.

The house hearing conducted in Pasay City sought to address the prevalent leakage and declination of taxes resulting from the misutilization of illegitimate PWD cards. 

With a population of 1,847,015 legitimate PWD holders, the collection of government revenues and supposed benefits for senior citizens and those with disabilities is then put in an economic and legislative loss and inspection following the incident.

In addressing the issue at hand, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, on Friday, December 5, 2024, revealed several factors of such illicit prevalence, pointing to the issuing and documentation of counterfeit PWD cards and licenses in the cities of Bacolod and Valenzuela with fees amounting to ₱500 - 2,500 pesos, opening opportunities to exploit well-intended benefits and significant revenue loss and forfeitment towards local businesses and business owners operating with PWD discounts in their cafes and restaurants. 

“These fake PWD IDs are causing a lot of economic damage in terms of foregone revenues and unqualified discounts," said Senator Gatchallian, highlighting the implications of PWD card frauds on the Philippine economy. 

“This inquiry seeks to uphold the true intent of the law, ensuring only those eligible can access its benefits while safeguarding government revenue and business interests,” he added, officially providing a space for government inquiry, discussion, and investigation under Senate Resolution 1239. 

“We’ve experienced na sa 10 person na mag dine in, out of those, mga 6 yung PWD card holders, and minsan questionable kasi you see them physically na abled naman and hindi naman kasi kami nag-base dun sa nakalagay na disability sa card,” a restaurant operations manager, Faith Castillo, in Quezon City stated on November 14, 2024. 

Several medical organizations, notably the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), have also expressed the weighing consequence of the PWD card fraud on public and PWD healthcare and individuals. With ₱166.1 billion discounts given to those with illegitimate PWD cards compared to the ₱42.3 billion discounts given to those with legitimate ones. 

“Legitimate PWDs lose access to benefits as resources are diverted to unscrupulous individuals,” said Executive Director Teodoro Padilla in his official statement regarding the PWD identification fraud during the House hearing. 

“Non-PWDs unfairly deplete the supplies of innovative life-saving medicines. And number three, pharmacies bear 70% of the cost of discounts,” he reiterated. 

A Persons With Disabilities (PWD) identification card is a government-issued document that officially recognizes an individual or a group of people with disabilities. This card also allows access to government-mandated discounts and benefits, reducing financial stress for PWDs. PWD cards began to be officially regulated and distributed under Republic Act No. 7277 (Magna Carta for Disabled Persons) on July 22, 1991.