The National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) will implement a Unified Identification (ID) system for persons with disabilities (PWDs) starting this month as part of measures to address the illegal issuance, sale, and utilization of fake IDs.
NCDA Executive Director Glenda Relova, said during the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Thursday Media Forum that the unified ID system will be pilot tested from January to June this year and is targeted to be rolled out nationwide starting July.
Relova said the issuance and use of a unified id for PWDs was one of the measures that came out in the round-table discussions by the NCDA Governing Board, which is chaired by the DSWD, to address the proliferation of fake PWD IDs.
“We are just waiting for the terms of reference to be finalized so we can fine tune the different phases for the release of the IDs,” she added.
Relova said the DSWD and the NCDA will manage the unified ID system for PWDs in collaboration with local government units (LGUs), through their respective Persons with Disability Affairs Offices (PDAO).
She said the application, verification, and approval process will still be under the PDAO while the DSWD will be the central authority that will issue the unified ID.
The unified ID system will feature both a physical ID and a digital ID with the biometric data of the person with disability to prevent fraud.
The physical ID will be RFID (radio frequency identification)-enabled PVC cards with high-security features intended for offline use, while the digital ID will be accessible via a mobile app or web portal and would feature QR codes for quick verification.
The unified ID system will also be linked to a web-based portal that can be used for real-time updating and local-level ID verification linked to the Philippine Registry for Persons with Disability (PRPWD).
Relova said that prior to the issuance of the unified IDs, there had been a proliferation of fake PWD IDs which had been used and abused by some unscrupulous individuals.
She said there were some PWDs who were unable to apply for the real IDs and opted to buy and use fake ones while there were those who do not have any disabilities but were able to get real PWD IDs that are used to avail of the discounts, benefits, and privileges mandated under Republic Act (RA) 10754, also known as An Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of Persons with Disability.
