The Solo Parents’ Ordinance of Davao City is on hold pending the passage of the required Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for its full implementation.
Proposed by Councilor Trisha Ann Villafuerte, chairperson of the Committee on Women, Children and Family Relation, the ordinance was already approved by the City Council last January 2024.
“Bag-o lang na siya na-approve last January,” Villafuerte said during the Aprubado sa Konseho media briefing on Tuesday.
The ordinance defines solo parents as unmarried, separated, annulled, widower and widowed individual, and any person, whether male or female, falling under the enumeration provided under Section 4, Republic Act No. 11861 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations, who has taken the sole responsibility of parenthood.
Section 2 of the ordinance states that the City of Davao adheres to the declared policy of the State as provided in Section 2 of Republic Act No. 11861, otherwise known as the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act.
“The city shall, therefore, assist in every way possible the solo parents in the raising of their families and in providing their children a better future hoping that such efforts will contribute greatly to the continued realization of a “Child Friendly City”,” it said.
Section 7 enumerates the services and benefits for solo parents in addition to the welfare services, privileges and benefits provided by law that include: a10 percent discount and exemption from the value-added tax (VAT) on baby’s milk, food and micronutrient supplements, and sanitary diapers purchased, duly prescribed medicines, vaccines, and other medical supplements purchased from the birth of the child or children until six six
years of age of a solo parent who is earning less than P250,000 annually, subject to adjustment in accordance with the provisions on the exempt taxable income under the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC), as amended by Republic Act No. 10963, otherwise known as the
“Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN); death and burial assistance; livelihood assistance; flexible work schedule; parental leave; social safety assistance such as food, medicine, and financial aid for domicile repair located within the jurisdiction of the city, subject to the guidelines of the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO); solo-parent monetary subsidy; psycho-social intervention assistance during disasters, calamities, pandemics, and other public health crises as may be declared by the Department of Health (DOH); and a 10% discount in the purchase of necessities and prime commodities not exceeding P5,000 in grocery stores and supermarkets whose gross income is not less than P250,000 a month; and a 10% discount for medicines and vitamins.
The ordinance recommends the creation of the Solo Parent Office, which shall be under the supervision of the CSWDO.
