MANILA, Philippines – Billions of pesos in government revenue have been lost due to the proliferation of fake person with disability (PWD) identification cards, according to a Senate investigation.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who presided over the Senate ways and means committee investigation into the issue, revealed that the government lost an estimated P88.2 billion in 2023 alone.

Gatchalian disclosed that fake PWD cards are being sold on social media marketplaces for as low as P500 to P1,500.

“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,” the senator said.

Based on data, Gatchalian estimated that there are 1,847,015 legitimate PWDs, while 8,535,141 individuals are believed to hold illegitimate PWD cards.

“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,” Gatchalian explained.

The senator emphasized that the issue goes beyond the mere presence of fake IDs, calling it an “economic problem.” He pointed out that businesses are being unfairly burdened by providing discounts to individuals who do not qualify for them.

📷 Screenshot from Sen. Win Gatchalian