The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is backing the nationwide rollout of the Unified Persons with Disabilities ID System (UPWDIS), saying the system will help protect the rights of persons with disabilities while ensuring that government benefits reach qualified beneficiaries.
Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said the unified system is not only about issuing an identification card but also about creating a more organized system that protects the rights of persons with disabilities, prevents duplication and fraud, and ensures that benefits and services reach qualified beneficiaries.
The DSWD spokesperson said institutionalizing the Unified ID System would strengthen the delivery of services and the protection of the rights and privileges of persons with disabilities.
She also said the system would provide a more standardized, secure and reliable way of identifying persons with disabilities and ensuring they receive the benefits and privileges provided by law.
The National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), an attached agency of the DSWD, earlier issued Administrative Order No. 001, series of 2026, or the “Institutionalization and Implementation of a Unified Persons with Disabilities Identification System.”
The order establishes standardized guidelines for the issuance and verification of IDs for bona fide and qualified persons with disabilities nationwide.
Under the UPWDIS, the identification of persons with disabilities will be centrally managed through the unified system.
Local government units, however, will continue to handle the application, approval, issuance and distribution of physical cards through their Persons with Disability Affairs Offices (PDAOs) and/or City or Municipal Social Welfare and Development Offices.
The arrangement combines a standardized national identification system with local offices that remain responsible for processing applications and distributing physical IDs.
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