Solo Parent Benefits: PHP 1,000 Subsidy, 10% Discount, Solo Parent ID

Section 4 lists who qualifies. In short:

1. A parent who gives sole parental care and support because of:
   • a child born as a result of rape, even without a final conviction;
   • death of the spouse;
   • detention of the spouse for at least three months, or service of sentence for a criminal conviction;
   • physical or mental incapacity of the spouse, certified by a public or private medical practitioner;
   • legal separation, or de facto separation for at least six months;
   • declaration of nullity or annulment of the marriage, or divorce, subject to existing laws;
   • abandonment by the spouse for at least six months.
2. The spouse or a family member of an OFW, or the guardian of the OFW's children, if the OFW belongs to the "low/semi-skilled worker category" and has been away from the Philippines for an uninterrupted period of 12 months. The law does not list which jobs fall in this category.
3. An unmarried mother or father who keeps and rears the child.
4. A legal guardian, adoptive or foster parent who gives sole care and support.
5. A relative within the fourth civil degree who takes over the care of the child after the death, abandonment, disappearance or absence of the parents for at least six months.
6. A pregnant woman who gives sole parental care and support to the unborn child.

"Children" here means those living with and dependent on the solo parent who are "unmarried, unemployed and twenty-two (22) years old or below", or older if they cannot fully care for or protect themselves because of a physical or mental disability or condition (Section 3(b)).

Section 15 lists additional benefits for solo parents with a Solo Parent Identification Card (SPIC):

• Monthly cash subsidy of P1,000 per solo parent who earns a minimum wage and below, allocated by the city or municipality. It is not given to a solo parent who already receives cash assistance or a subsidy from another government program. In fifth-class and lower municipalities and in the 500 municipalities with the highest poverty incidence, the money may come from the Gender and Development (GAD) budget, "and the amount of cash subsidy per recipient may be dependent on the amount of the GAD budget".
• 10% discount and VAT exemption on "baby's milk, food and micronutrient supplements, and sanitary diapers purchased, duly prescribed medicines, vaccines, and other medical supplements", from the child's birth until six years of age, for a solo parent earning less than P250,000 a year. The implementing rules extend this to solo parents who are unemployed (Revised IRR, Section 33(b)).
• Automatic PhilHealth coverage, with premium contributions paid by the National Government. For solo parents with formal jobs, the law and its rules describe a sharing of the premium; see our PhilHealth guides for membership.
• Priority in apprenticeship, scholarship, livelihood and skills training, OFW reintegration and job matching programs, and in government low-cost housing.

Other parts of the law add:

• a full scholarship for one child of a solo parent in DepEd, CHED and TESDA programs, if qualified (Section 9);
• no discrimination at work because of solo parent status (Section 7), and a flexible work schedule unless it affects productivity (Revised IRR, Section 19);
• seven working days of paid parental leave a year for employees who qualify: see Solo parent leave.

The rules on how cities and municipalities pay out the P1,000 are to be issued by the DILG (Revised IRR, Section 33(a)). We did not read them, so ask your Solo Parent Office how and when it is released where you live.

The Solo Parent Office (SPO) of the province or city, or the Solo Parent Division (SPD) of the municipality, issues it. Under the law and the Revised IRR:

• you apply at your city or municipal social welfare office, fill in the application form and undergo assessment by a social worker (Revised IRR, Section 11);
• you attend the Solo Parents Orientation Seminar before the ID is issued (Revised IRR, Section 11);
• the office issues the SPIC and booklet "within seven (7) working days from receipt of complete documents" (Section 20);
• the SPIC and booklet are free (Section 17) and "valid for one (1) year" (Section 20);
• renewal depends on the social worker's assessment (Revised IRR, Section 10).

To claim the 10% discount, show the solo parent booklet together with the SPIC (Revised IRR, Section 34).

Section 19 requires authenticated or certified true copies of documents that depend on your category. Some examples:

• Death of the spouse: birth certificates of the children, marriage certificate, death certificate of the spouse, and a sworn affidavit that you are not cohabiting with a partner and have sole care and support of the children.
• Unmarried parent: birth certificates of the children, a Certificate of No Marriage (CENOMAR), an affidavit of a barangay official that you live in the barangay and the children are in your care, and your sworn affidavit.
• Abandonment: birth certificates, marriage certificate or your affidavit, an affidavit of two disinterested persons on the abandonment, a police or barangay record of it, and your sworn affidavit.
• OFW family: birth certificates, your marriage certificate, the Overseas Employment Certificate (OEC) or its equivalent, a copy of passport stamps showing 12 continuous months of work abroad, and your sworn affidavit.

For the P1,000 subsidy and the 10% discount you also submit one of these: an affidavit of no employment, an Income Tax Return, a social case study from the DSWD, or any verifiable proof of income.

Birth certificates and the CENOMAR come from the PSA: see birth certificate online and CENOMAR. For the OEC, see OEC and OEC exemption.

Only a solo parent who actually gives sole care and support can claim the benefits. Section 16 says you do not lose the status "if the other parent provides occasional assistance and/or seasonal gifts that do not meet the legal requirement of support". But the lack of a valid marriage between the parents does not by itself entitle either of them to the benefits if, in fact, they share the care and support of the child. For the other parent's duty to give support, see How much is child support?

Section 26 punishes:

• refusing or failing to give the benefits: for a first violation, a fine of P10,000 to P50,000, or imprisonment of six months to one year, or both; for later violations, a fine of P100,000 to P200,000, or imprisonment of one to two years, or both;
• misrepresenting solo parent status or falsifying documents: a fine of not more than P50,000 and imprisonment of six months to one year, or both.

These are made-up examples to show how the rules work. They are not advice for any real case.

Joel, unmarried, raises his three-year-old son alone and earns less than P250,000 a year. With his SPIC and solo parent booklet, he can ask for the 10% discount and VAT exemption on his son's milk and diapers.

Rowena's husband has been working abroad without coming home for 13 months, and she cares for their two children alone. If his job is in the low/semi-skilled category, she may apply under the OFW category, bringing the birth certificates, marriage certificate, OEC or its equivalent, passport stamps and a sworn affidavit. The law does not say which jobs are in that category, so she asks the Solo Parent Office.

Most applications for the Solo Parent ID do not need a lawyer: the Solo Parent Office and the social worker handle them. Talk to a lawyer if you need a court decree as a document (legal separation, nullity or annulment, or recognition of a foreign divorce), if you need to claim child support, if an employer refuses your solo parent benefits, or if you are accused of misrepresenting your status.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, see Free legal help in the Philippines for the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) and other options.