Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo today said that the Amendments to Republic Act (RA) 8972 or the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act was included as a priority legislative measure under the DSWD Legislative Agenda for the 17th Congress.

Sec. Taguiwalo stressed that the DSWD’s Department Legislative Liaison Office  (DLLO) has an approved advocacy action plan, which was formulated with the Legislative Bill Review Committee (LBRC) Members and Field Office Legislative Liaison Coordinators (FO LLCs) as early as May 2016.

Aside from House Bill No. 3398 filed by Representative Arlene D. Brosas of Gabriela Party List on August 31, there are five more bills in the House of Representatives with the same intent. These are:

• HBN 388 or An Act Granting Additional Benefits to Solo Parents, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000 (Rep Rosenda Ann Ocampo);

• HBN 878 or An Act Granting Additional Benefits to Solo Parents, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000 (Rep Benhur Lopez, Jr);

• HBN 972 or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000, By Providing for Additional Benefits and Penal Provision for Violations of the Act (Rep Lawrence Lemuel Fortun);

• HBN 1520 or An Act Granting Additional Benefits to Solo Parents, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000 (Rep Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo); and

• HBN 3034 or An Act Declaring March 21 of Every Year as the National Solo Parents’ Day (Rep Alfred Vargas).

HBNs 3398, 878 and 972 were already referred to the Committee on Revision of Laws while the other three bills were referred to the Committee on Population and Family Relations.

Meanwhile, three bills were also filed in the Senate, namely:

• SBN 243 or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2010, Providing for Additional Benefits on Basic Commodities, and for Other Purposes (Sen Loren Legarda);

• SBN 715 or An Act Amending Republic Act No. 8972, Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act of 2000, by Providing for Additional Benefits and Penal Provision for Violations of the Act (Sen Paolo Benigno Aquino IV); and

SBN 783 or An Act to Further Extend Assistance to Solo Parents Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 8972 Otherwise Known as the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000 (Sen Francis Escudero).

Sec. Taguiwalo explained that the preparation of position papers in line with the amendments to the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act is always done in consultation with the LBRC. It also considers the inputs of the Special Review Committee (SRC) on the Solo Parents’ Welfare Act.

The SRC is an inter-agency committee created under Article VI, Section 28 of the Act’s Implementing Rules and Regulations, which is primarily tasked to evaluate the effectiveness and relevance of the provisions of the law to the current situation of solo parents. DSWD chairs this Committee.

Coordination with solo parents’ organization

The Department is closely coordinating with the officers of the Federation of Solo Parents in LuzViMin – United Solo Parents of the Philippines (FSPL-USPP), the umbrella federation of 12 existing and recognized solo parents’ organizations nationwide.

Areas of collaboration include the need to come up with a national database to determine the accurate number and profile of solo parents in the country as part of the technical support for the author/s.

Meanwhile, FSPL-USPP president and spokesperson Carina Javier stated that they agree with Representative Brosas’ preference to have HBN 3398 referred to the Committee on Women and Gender Equality since an overwhelming majority of solo parents are women.

“It is better that all the bills on the amendments be referred to a single committee which we could focus on,” Javier said.

“We are grateful to Sec. Judy Taguiwalo for her all out support to us solo parents, and to the Gabriela Party List and the Makabayan Coalition in Congress for involving us – the stakeholders in the actual crafting of HB 3398, but we are also aware that we still have a long way to go,” Javier added. ###