The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and its attached agency, the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), rolled out the unified ID system for persons with disabilities (PWDs), following months of systems development and internal testing.
“The DSWD is very pleased to announce that the rollout for the unified persons with disabilities ID has commenced in San Miguel, Bulacan,” Social Welfare Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Irene Dumlao said on Tuesday.
“This is the first of the 35 pilot local government units (LGU) that will be able to provide a more convenient and efficient method of validation for their persons with disabilities constituents,” she added.
Dumlao said the other areas scheduled to roll out the ID this week include the cities of Pasay and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila, as well as Santa Rosa in Laguna.
The application, verification, and approval of the unified PWD ID will be done by the LGUs through their respective Persons with Disability Affairs Offices (PDAO). Meanwhile, the NCDA will handle the centralized printing of the IDs.
“The NCDA will continue to coordinate with other participating LGUs to plot the schedule for their respective pilot roll-outs in the following weeks,” Dumlao said.
Among the security features of the unified ID system is a digital ID that can be accessed via a mobile app or a web portal. The digital ID has a QR code that can be scanned by business establishments for quick verification.
PWDs also have the option to present physical IDs that are RFID (radio frequency identification)-enabled PVC cards for offline use.
Around 200,000 PWDs, roughly 10 percent of the estimated 2 million PWDs nationwide, are expected to participate in the pilot rollout.
The pilot areas include the following:
- Parang, Maguindanao, from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)
- Dagupan, San Carlos, Urdaneta, and Alaminos in Pangasinan
- Solano, Nueva Vizcaya
- Almost all municipalities in Bulacan province
- Cainta, San Mateo, Santa Rosa, Teresa, and Antipolo City in Rizal province
- Carmona, Cavite
- Pila, Laguna
- Daet, Camarines Norte
- Kalibo, Aklan
- Candijay, Bohol
- Malaybalay, Bukidnon
- Koronadal City and Surallah in South Cotabato
- Pasay and Muntinlupa in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The unified ID system is part of the Marcos administration’s efforts to combat the proliferation of fake PWD ID cards and ensure that more inclusive programs and policies are available for the vulnerable sector.
