DSWD-7 Hosts Visayas Cluster Solo Parents Summit

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 7 is hosting the solo parents summit of the Visayas cluster on November 15-16, 2019 at Hotel Elizabeth in Cebu City.

Recognizing the need to further enhance the awareness of solo parents on RA 8972 or the Solo Parents Welfare Act and also on the proposed amendments, the DSWD organized a series of summits in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao through its Program Management Bureau.

The following are the objectives of the summit: 1) Provide a venue for local implementers, solo parents organizations, advocates and stakeholders to engage in interactive discussion on the issues affecting the sector; 2) Push for the amendments to RA 8972 currently pending in Congress and Senate; and 3) Provide programs and services from various government agencies to the participants.

The Luzon Summit was held earlier in Angeles City, Pampanga. For the NCR, it will be held at DSWD Central Office on November 30 (Saturday), and Mindanao on December 9-10 in Davao City.

The Federation of Solo Parents Luzvimin (FSPL), the umbrella organization of 26 solo parents-associations nationwide including DSWD CO-SPEO and solo parent –employees’ organizations of Field Offices NCR, Region 3, Calabarzon, MIMAROPA, Regions 6, 8 and 11, shall mobilize its member organizations in said areas to push for the passage of the amendment to RA 8972.

More than 18 years ago, the Republic Act 8972 or the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000 “AN ACT PROVIDING FOR BENEFITS AND PRIVILEGES TO SOLO PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES” was enacted to assist solo parents to cope with their situation.

It was signed by Former President Joseph Estrada on November 7, 2000, while the Implementing Rules and Regulations was approved on April 10, 2002.

However, the provisions of this law are not being widely implemented because majority of local government units are either not aware that RA 8972 exists or they lack the necessary manpower and resources to conduct a massive advocacy/information campaign, or they simply lack the political will to implement concrete programs and services for their solo parent constituents.

Meanwhile, today’s solo parents face several challenges ranging from financial/economic, mental, emotional, physical to psychosocial. Hence, the role of LGUs is crucial since the full implementation of the law’s provisions rest on their shoulders, specifically with the Local Social Welfare Development Offices (LSWDOs), which most often lack the trained personnel to address the numerous concerns of solo parents in their jurisdictions.

“As the lead agency in the monitoring of RA 8972, the DSWD continuously advocates for the law’s amendment, as one of the Department’s priority legislative measures. DSWD chairs the Special Review Committee on Solo Parents (SRC-SP), an inter-agency body comprising national government agencies tasked with implementing the Comprehensive Psycho-Social Programs and Services for Solo Parents and their Children,” said DSWD-7 Regional Director Rebecca P. Geamala.

Since RD Geamala took over the leadership of DSWD-7 in January this year, she has been supportive of organizing the solo parents. She envisions an umbrella organization of solo parents and members of the Empowerment and Reaffirmation of Paternal Abilities associations in Region 7.