About 8.5 million individuals nationwide have been recorded as using fraudulent Persons with Disability (PWD) identification cards, according to data from the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA).

Chief State Counsel Dennis Arvin Chan said the figure is significantly higher than the country’s official number of registered PWDs, which stands at only around 2.8 million.

Of the 8.5 million individuals flagged for using potentially fake PWD IDs, about 6 million were found to have clear discrepancies or irregularities in their documents and information, Chan said.

“The numbers that the NCDA were able to share with us are alarming,” Chan said.

Chan said the large number of questionable PWD IDs has also raised concerns over the economic impact of fraudulent claims.

“[The] 6 million that are unaccounted for results in serious economic loss, according to the business owners,” he said.

(News report via RH Tina Nolasco)