MANDAUE CITY, Cebu — The City Council had recently allowed solo parents to be granted benefits, services and programs through an ordinance called the “Solo Parent Welfare Ordinance of Mandaue.”

This is pursuant to Republic Act 8972 which is also known as the Solo Parent Act of 2000, and institutionalizes the programs, services, privileges and benefits for solo parents and their children.

City Councilor Joel Seno, the sponsor of the Ordinance said “This wasn’t really given much attention before but with the rising cases of separation of couples, this may easily number by the hundreds or even thousands.”

He cited that the Solo Parent Act is a declared policy of Mandaue to promote the family as the foundation of the city, strengthen its solidarity and ensure its total development. Towards this end, it shall develop a comprehensive program of services for solo parents and their children.

Categories for being a solo parent include those who have given birth but are unmarried or bore a child due to rape, has a spouse serving sentence for a criminal conviction, and those who have been left alone due to abandonment, annulment, mental incapacity or death of a spouse, or de facto separation.