Imagine an airline pilot presenting a person with disability (PWD) card that said he is legally blind. Or a person with an orthopedic disability but goes to the gym regularly. Some PWD card bearers, meanwhile, use their cards to buy expensive steaks, whiskey, wines and other luxury goods. 

These and more are just some of the stories shared by Resto PH president Eric Teng to illustrate the proliferation of fake PWD cards, which entitle bearers to 20 percent discount on food purchases from restaurants as long as it is for their exclusive use.

The Senate Committee on Ways and Means earlier said government lost about P88.2 billion in taxes in 2023 due to fake PWD IDs. It said there is an estimated 8.5 million illegitimate PWDs in the country, while there are only 1.8 million legitimate PWDs.

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Teng said the number of fake PWD IDs has boomed since the pandemic, with some fake IDs being sold online for as little as P500. “‘Yung maganda you can buy it for P500. Kung may booklet P1500.  ‘Yung Class C P150,” he said in a TeleRadyo Serbisyo interview.

He added that some individuals just print their fake IDs at home.

Teng said fake PWD IDs usually have several discrepancies including wrong design, duplicate serial numbers, incompatible city codes, or even the wrong mayor's name and signature on the fake IDs. 

"Karamihan ng nakikita namin ngayon [PWD ID] ay fake," he said. 

He warned that PWD discounts affected 5 percent of sales in 2022, which steadily increased to 25 percent as of this year. "Kung karamihan po ay fake, baka sa loob lang ng isang taon, baka maging 50 percent dahil napakadaling makakuha ng fake cards."