Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez and Department of Social Services and Development OIC Alma Gustilo have been invited as resource persons at a Senate hearing on the proliferation of fake identification cards of persons with disabilities (PWD) on Thursday, Dec. 4.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has sought a Senate investigation into tax leakages caused by the proliferation of PWD identification cards being used to avail of a 20-percent discount and value-added tax (VAT) exemption.
He cited Bacolod City’s discovering the proliferation of 100 fake PWD IDs.
Benitez has been invited as a resource speaker to present measures adopted by the Bacolod City government to curb the proliferation of fake PWD IDs.
The mayor in February has ordered the recall of all PWD ID cards in Bacolod and the release of new ones with QR codes to prevent the circulation of fakes.*