QUEZON CITY, (PIA) -- Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte on Friday warned against fraudulent individuals who use persons with disability (PWD) identification cards in the city.

According to Mayor Belmonte, the Persons with Disability Affairs Office (QC PDAO) has implemented stricter verification processes to catch some individuals pretending to have a disability.

"The improper use of PWD IDs to obtain discounts, by individuals who are not legitimate PWDs is completely unacceptable. To address this issue, we have implemented an automated registration system which makes the process more efficient and secure," said Belmonte.

The mayor added, the new PWD ID registration system now uses the online portal QC E-Services where applicants submit the relevant documents to prove the disability.

By this method, Belmonte said that the "padrinos and fixers" involved this will be insignificant.

There were 78,000 PWD ID holders in QC before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but after the implementation of the automated system, there were only 52,000.

According to the mayor, it was also discovered that of the 7,000 rejected applicants, most of them used fake medical certificates.

Meanwhile, Belmonte said that the local government is now giving priority to providing accessibility to PWDs by placing ramps on the sidewalks. (PIA-NCR)