In an official statement released on Instagram last February 3, Restaurant Owners of the Philippines declared, “Fake PWD cards are crippling the restaurant industry.”
The proliferation of the use of these counterfeit IDs raised the concern of the organization as it impedes the income margin of these establishments, especially the small and family-owned restaurants.
Instituted within Republic Act (RA) 10754 Section 6, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are entitled to a 20% discount along with a Value Added Tax exemption. However, the restaurant owners group clarified that these discounts are shouldered by the establishments and not necessarily reimbursed by the government.
What aggravated the predicament of the association was the recent legal opinion released by the Department of Justice that same day, February 3, with a clarification that under RA 10754 discount IDs for PWDs and senior citizens do not require verification before individuals can be entitled to discounts.
Stripped of means to properly verify the credibility of an ID, restaurant owners are put at risk which could lead to possible financial strains. Not only do they lose revenue but the risk of deception dominoes toward affected food quality, employee’s wages, and menu prices.
Local business owners also echoed the sentiment of the restaurant owners. For one, Onlypans Taqueria, a Makati-based Mexican restaurant, expressed in a Facebook post their frustration on how the government handled issues regarding the use of fake IDs, “We have a system so weak that it’s easy to fake, easy to exploit, and easy to get away with.” Onlypans called for a legitimate and foolproof way to validate the authenticity of these IDs and grant discounts to those who rightfully deserve them. “Corruption at every level makes things harder for the people who actually need help, while those with connections or money find ways to cheat the system,” they furthered.
Similarly, Manmaru Japanese restaurant clamored for fair use of PWD cards as it affects small businesses like them in more ways than one, “The misuse of these benefits affects those who truly need them and makes it harder for businesses to sustain fair pricing and quality service.”
Safeguarding the rights of restaurants and their stakeholders is equally important as ensuring that rightful owners of PWD cards get guaranteed discounts through legal means. The association along with restaurant owners themselves plead for a system that is fair and just to cut out rampant misuse of certain privileges solely merited to minority groups in society.
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