PWD ID issuance must be reviewed to prevent abuses —Angara

The process of issuing identification cards for persons with disabilities (PWD) must be reviewed to prevent abuses on discount privileges while various establishments are scrambling to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Sonny Angara said on Thursday.

He filed Senate Resolution No. 455, seeking a Senate probe on reported proliferation of "fake" PWD IDs.

Angara, one of the authors and sponsors of Republic Act 10754 or the law expanding the benefits and privileges of PWDs, underscored that the main purpose of the PWDs' 20% discount and exemption from value added tax on the purchase of goods and services is to help them participate more in society.

"The exploitation on the use of the benefits and privileges specifically intended to help alleviate any financial burden encountered by PWDs should not be tolerated especially at this time when establishments like restaurants, entertainment centers and hotels are still struggling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

"A review of the implementation of this provision of the law is clearly needed so that the appropriate safeguards would be introduced to ensure only those who are in actual need of the benefits and privileges are granted such while also protecting the establishments against abuses," he added.

According to the senator, the National Council on Disability Affairs' (NCDA) guidelines states that a PWD ID card may be issued to any bonafide PWD with permanent disabilities due to psychosocial, chronic illness, learning, mental, visual, orthopedic, or speech and hearing conditions.

The NCDA said it is already checking complaints involving a family in Quezon City where six members had been registered as PWDs despite non-submission of required documents.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also urged local government units to be stricter in issuing PWD IDs. —LDF, GMA News