The Valenzuela City Police expressed the need for a partner agency to help eradicate the proliferation of tampered senior citizen and persons with disability (PWD) identification cards.

Valenzuela City Police Chief Colonel Nixon Cayaban said that despite the effectiveness of the city ordinance, they have been unable to arrest those using fake government-issued IDs.

“I hope to have a partner agency that will help the Valenzuela City Police to eradicate the fake IDs,” Cayaban said in a phone interview.

The police chief lamented that they cannot thoroughly verify identification cards alone or easily differentiate between authentic and falsified IDs.

Cayaban shared that they were close to arresting a suspect for using a falsified ID, but the complainant backed out and refused to testify in court, leading to the dismissal of the charges.

He encouraged local business owners and workers to notify the local police whenever they spot counterfeit IDs, emphasizing that the city ordinance can only be effective with public cooperation.

Last December, Valenzuela City Councilor Walter Magnum Dela Cruz signed a city ordinance allowing commercial establishment owners to confiscate fake government-issued IDs.

Dela Cruz previously stated that since it is a city ordinance, authorities cannot verify counterfeit IDs issued by other cities.

“If there are IDs from different cities, we won’t be able to verify them because we don’t have data from that particular city.”

Violators of the ordinance face fines starting at P5,000, with higher penalties for repeated offenses.

Cayaban said that users and distributors of counterfeit PWD and senior citizen IDs will face charges, including falsification of public documents and violations of the local ordinance.

He emphasized that these IDs are intended for persons with disabilities and senior citizens, not for individuals exploiting them for discounts despite having no legitimate need.