National Unity Party (NUP) president LRay Villafuerte is reminding all solo parents that they are now entitled to free health services as automatic members of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), following the recent release of the guidelines for the law expanding the economic benefits due single dads and moms in the country.
Villafuerte said the state-run PhilHealth released last month the guidelines on the implementation of the free health services for single parents and their registered children or dependents, as registered in the respective Solo Parents Offices (SPOs) or Solo Parent Divisions (SPDs) of the cities or municipalities where they live.
“Alongside a monthly cash subsidy for single moms and dads earning the minimum wage or below, and the 10% discount plus exemption from the 12% value-added tax (VAT) on certain essential purchases, single dads and moms are now entitled to free PhilHealth coverage,” Villafuerte, a lead author of Republic Act (RA) 11861 that expanded the coverage and benefits due single parents and their families, said.
RA 11861 expanded the benefits for single parents under the two-decade-old “Solo Parents Welfare Act” of 2000 or RA 8972.
Under Philhealth Circular No. 2024-0020, which was published in the print media last Sept. 28, PhilHealth coverage is automatic and will apply to both working and non-working solo parents, Villafuerte said.
“Alongside a monthly cash subsidy for single moms and dads earning the minimum wage or below, and the 10% discount plus exemption from the 12% value-added tax (VAT) on certain essential purchases, single dads and moms are now entitled to free PhilHealth coverage.”
Solo parents are eligible to avail of the PhilHealth KonSulTa Package following the existing policy, and can sign up, along with their children or dependents, with an accredited PhilHealth Konsulta Provider of their choice.
RA 11861 increased the age threshold of the dependents entitled to the law’s benefits from 18 years old to 22 and expanded the coverage of spouses to include not only the legitimate husbands or wives but also their partners in common-law relationships as defined by the Family Code.
In its Circular 2024-0020, PhilHealth said that the automatic coverage is in step with Section 2(a) of RA 11861, which has set the State policy to “provide adequate social services, promote, full employment, a rising standard of living and an improved quality of life.”
Towards these ends, RA 11861 tasks the government to “support the natural and primary rights and duty of solo parents in rearing their children by providing for their basic needs and extending to them assistance in social services and welfare benefits, with the end in view of uplifting their status and circumstances.”
However, for single dads and moms who have jobs in the formal economy, their premium contributions shall be shared equally by their respective employers and the national government.
According to the PhilHealth, the circular was issued “to provide the policy and procedural guidelines to ensure the automatic coverage of all Filipino solo parents, including their children or dependents under the NHIP.”
The circular defines as the children or dependents of solo parents those who are 22 years of age or below who depend upon their single moms or dads for support and who are unmarried and unemployed.
Those over 22 years old but who are unable to fully take care or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition also qualify as dependents of solo parents.
Under the guidelines, solo parents can avail of all the benefits as provided by law by presenting the Solo Parent Identification Cards (SPICs) and Booklets that were issued to them by their SPOs or SPDs, respectively, in their cities or municipalities.
Villafuerte said that aside from parents whose spouses have passed away, unmarried fathers or mothers and rape victims who opted to keep their offsprings, those legally considered as “solo parents” under RA 11861 include the spouses or family members of semi-skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been away from the Philippines for a period of 12 months; grandparents and other family members or qualified guardians who bear sole responsibility over the qualified children; and those whose spouses have been detained for at least three months for a criminal conviction.
Also classified now as “solo parents’ are those whose spouses have been medically certified as physically or mentally incapacitated; those who have been separated from their spouses for at least six months and have taken on sole parental care and support of their children; those whose marriages have been nullified or annulled and have been entrusted with solo parental care; and those who have been abandoned by their spouses for at least six months; and those whose spouses have been jailed for criminal conviction.
Alongside leave privileges under existing laws, solo parents are likewise entitled to a seven-day parental leave with pay regardless of employment status, and they get priority in any telecommuting program of their workplaces, said Villafuerte, who also co-authored RA 11165 or the Telecommuting Act of 2018.
Villafuerte said that solo parents may avail, too, of the 10% discount and value-added tax (VAT) exemption on their purchases of essentials such as baby’s milk, diapers and doctor-prescribed medicines for their kids six years of age and below.
Earlier, he said that the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) last year issued Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 1-2023 on the implementation of the tax privileges to be accorded establishments that grant the 10%-discount and VAT-exemption to qualified single parents on their purchases of goods for their babies, toddlers and preschoolers that are listed under the law.
However, he pointed out that this hefty price discount under the law can be availed of only by solo parents earning P250,000 each or below per year—the same income bracket as those who are exempted from paying income taxes under RA 10963 or the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.
Villafuerte explained that qualified single parents or the guardians of qualified dependents are entitled to the 10% discount on, and VAT-free, purchases from drugstores, pharmacies, grocery stores and similar establishments of breastmilk or infant formula, food supplements and micronutrient supplements as well as sanitary diapers for their kids with the age of six years or below.
Qualified solo parents are also entitled to the same privileges on their purchases of branded or generic medicines, vaccines and medical supplements, provided that these are medically prescribed by attending physicians for preventing or treating diseases, illnesses and injuries, and whose prescriptions are in the names of the qualified children.
In a 2017 study, the DOH and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) estimated about 14 to 15 million solo parents in the country.
Under RA 11861, solo parents who earn minimum wages or below will also get a higher monthly cash aid of P1,000 each from their respective local government units (LGUs).
Villafuerte said the pitch by President Marcos for solo parents in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2022 should prompt local executives to put up SPOs or SPDs in their respective localities, if they haven’t done so yet, in compliance with RA 11861.
He likewise appealed to LGU executives to back the President’s support for solo parents by submitting to the DSWD, on a quarterly basis, their respective lists of solo parents availing of the benefits under the new law.
Villafuerte also urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), in coordination with the DILG, to immediately establish and maintain, as provided in this new Act, a centralized database of all solo parents issued SPICs and booklets by the LGUs.
Most of the added benefits in RA 11861 that beneficiaries can now avail of plus the bigger list of Filipinos now considered legally as solo parents were contained in House Bill (HB) 6051, the bill authored by Villafuerte that was incorporated with HB 8097, the final and consolidated version passed by the House of Representatives.
