Pangasinan: The National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) has distributed 30 laptops to the provincial government of Pangasinan and its 48 local government units to aid in the processing of unified persons with disabilities (PWD) identification cards. This initiative aims to enhance the registration and renewal process for PWDs across the province.

According to Philippines News Agency, Pangasinan Persons with Disability Affairs Officer Jennifer Garcia expressed gratitude for the additional equipment, which complements the desktop computers previously provided by the national government. "We are grateful for this additional equipment that would help reach the PWDs in the province," Garcia stated.

NCDA Executive Director Glenda Relova explained that the laptops would facilitate mobile registration and renewal of PWDs for the unified ID system. During the Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat caravan, she noted, "They can bring the laptop where the system is, so that they can capture the information and provide immediate ID and assistance to the PWDs."

Relova emphasized that this step is crucial to combating the use of fake IDs and ensuring that the correct recipients access the privileges intended for them. She urged all PWD ID holders to obtain the new unified ID and register in the new system, even though the old IDs remain effective for now.

The unified ID for PWDs now has a single template from the NCDA, with a unique code to prevent counterfeits. Local government units provide the necessary information to NCDA's system, which is then integrated into the template and returned to the LGU for printing. Relova mentioned that the phaseout of the old ID would occur once 80 percent of the encoding is complete, which is expected to take two more years. "It's better if they get it now so that when NCDA issues a notice that the old ID is no longer valid, they won't be in a hurry," Relova advised.