New guidelines for PWD card

CEBU, Philippines — As the new guidelines on the qualifications of holding a Persons With Disability (PWD) ID card have already been reviewed, Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia said they will now begin implementing this while proposals for the issuance of new cards are ongoing.

This is the progress on the investigation into the selling of fake PWD cards in the city, as announced by Garcia during a press conference last Monday.

Garcia said these new “guidelines” were prepared by acting Cebu City Administrator Christine Joy Batucan following his order into the investigation of the said concern that will now incorporate the categorization of PWD’s.

Previously, the City Council found the need to update lists of PWD inclusion aligning with the Department of Health which excludes some chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension.

“So the new guidelines are already going to be implemented ASAP and it is only for my signature,” said Garcia.

In line with this, Garcia said he had already asked the Biddings and Awards Committee to look into the possibility of getting proposals for a new PWD card as well as a new Senior Citizen card.

“That is not only made of paper and laminated. It has to be an ID card that has the latest security features kay para kining mga fake nga IDs will already be a thing of the past,” Garcia said.

He is also optimistic that before the end of his six-month assumption, the city government will be partially implementing the issuance of these new cards.

Last June 6, an executive session was conducted wherein representatives of Management Information and Computer Services (MICS), the Department of Social Welfare and Services (DSWS), and Persons with Disability Affairs Unit were invited to shed light on the selling of the PWD cards.

The executive session stemmed from the resolution of Councilor James Anthony Cuenco who said in a privilege speech that the sale of PWD cards in the city has been going on for quite a while now.

Derived from the discussion, Cuenco said the DSWS admitted some “inefficiency” on their part due to their lack of connectivity.

Cuenco also said that the second part of the executive session was the presentation of MICS which lays down the proposal to improve the system.

He added that MICS presented a system that has more enhanced security features. He added they will be releasing these new PWD cards produced by this system within three months. — (FREEMAN)