By Chito Chavez
The Quezon City Council has approved on the second reading a proposed ordinance compelling restaurants and food establishments to grant 20-percent discount every Saturday of the month to registered solo parents.
Quezon City Vice-Mayor Joy Belmonte. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte who is the presiding officer of the city council said the proposal would provide more benefits to indigent solo parents in the city.
“There is an increasing number of indigent solo parents in the city, particularly young single mothers, and that is why we continue to carry out our advocacy of assisting solo parents,” Belmonte said in an interview.
Belmonte said the discount is being given on top of the numerous benefits the city is already providing, including educational assistance for the children of solo parents, medical assistance, and livelihood assistance.
“We hope to help indigent solo parents who are doing everything to stay strong and stand alone to have quality time with their kids with this simple assistance,” she added.
Introduced by Councilor Raquel Malañgen, the ordinance requires the city’s restaurants and eating establishments to provide a 20-percent discount on the total bill of a solo parent and his or her children.
The discount will be made available every first Saturday of the month from 12 noon to 6 p.m. for single or accumulated receipts not exceeding P2,000 for registered solo parents.
Restaurants and establishments shall then be allowed to claim the discounts as deductions on the payment of their annual business tax, which amounts to 1.75 percent of gross receipts in the preceding calendar year.
The ordinance is set to be implemented by the Quezon City Social Services Development Department (SSDD).
The proposed law is pursuant to Republic Act 8972 or the Solo Parents Welfare Act, which mandates government agencies to offer discounts and benefits to solo parents suffering economic difficulties.
In 2017, the Federation of Solo Parents estimated that there are nearly 20-million children raised by solo parents nationwide.