Parañaque 2nd District Representative Brian Raymund Yamsuan has urged Congress to pass a law that would institutionalize an online-based registration and renewal system for securing a Solo Parent Identification Card (SPIC) to make this process less costly and burdensome for its applicants.
Yamsuan’s proposed Online Registration and Renewal for Solo Parents Act under House Bill (HB) 4034 also mandates the Solo Parent Office (SPO) of the local government units (LGUs) to directly coordinate with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and other government agencies in requesting the documentary requirements needed for the issuance of the SPIC.
The Parañaque legislator said he filed the bill after receiving reports from solo parents about the difficulties they face in obtaining the SPIC, which is required to access most of the benefits granted to them under the law.
“Our proposal to establish an online registration and renewal system for the SPIC would make the process faster, more convenient and less costly for many struggling single parents nationwide,” said Yamsuan, who recently met with solo parents’ organizations in his district.
Yamsuan said mandating SPOs to directly coordinate with the PSA and other government agencies in requesting the necessary documents for the SPIC applications, as provided under the bill, will help ease the administrative and financial woes faced by solo parents.
“Kapag may opsyon na makapag-register online, makakatipid sa gastos sa pamasahe, at gayundin sa panahong ilalaan sa pagpunta sa iba’t ibang tanggapan ng gobyerno para makakuha ng requirements sa Solo Parent ID (If there’s an option to register online, they will save on transportation costs as well as the time spent on visiting multiple government offices to get the requirements needed for a Solo Parent ID),” he added.
Yamsuan expressed his support for an ongoing program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to pilot test an online Solo Parent ID System with the goal of simplifying the application and issuance of the SPIC, in line with Republic Act (RA) 11861 or the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act.
“We laud this effort by the DSWD to help ease the burdens faced by many solo parents. House Bill 4034 aims to complement this initiative and ensure that it gets the regular funding needed to implement it on a nationwide scale once the bill is passed into law,” Yamsuan said.
According to a report by the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), many solo parents are unaware of their benefits under RA 11861 or are unable to access them because of poor information dissemination and costly application processes.
The report cited instances where obtaining the necessary documents for the SPIC cost solo parents as much as P700, excluding transportation expenses for those living far from LGU offices.
Yamsuan said mandating SPOs to directly coordinate with the PSA and other government agencies in requesting the necessary documents for the SPIC applications, as provided under the bill, will help ease the administrative and financial woes faced by solo parents.
The Parañaque legislator said he filed the bill after receiving reports from solo parents about the difficulties they face in obtaining the SPIC, which is required to access most of the benefits granted to them under the law.
These documents include, but are not limited to, birth, marriage and death certificates, and certificates of no marriage (CENOMAR).
HB 4034, which amends certain provisions of the Solo Parents Welfare Act of 2000 (RA 8972), also tasks the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to develop the Online Registration and Renewal System in coordination with the DSWD and other relevant government agencies.
For the SPIC renewal, the bill provides for simplified requirements so that the solo parent would not have to present anew previously submitted documents, unless there is a change in his or her status or circumstances.
A study funded by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are about 14 to 15 million single parents in the Philippines, with most of them women.
