The Senate on Monday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act which is seen to benefit more solo parents especially at the time of COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who chairs the Senate’s contingent at the bicameral conference, said that among the salient provisions in the final version of the measure include:

• The expansion of the definition of solo parents to include spouses of low-skill overseas Filipino workers away from the country for an uninterrupted period of time;

• The decrease in the number of months of employment before availment of the Solo Parent leave;

• The increase in the age ceiling of the child of the solo parent for availment of benefits, to align this measure with the K-12 educational system;

• The provision of a P1,000 ‘ayuda’ for minimum wage earning solo parents.

The P1,000 financial aid, Hontiveros said was magnanimously accepted by the House of Representatives in exchange for the original hefty menu of discounts that both houses wanted to push but was objected to by the Department of Finance (DOF).

The final version of the bill also include other benefits such as educational scholarships for eligible children of eligible solo parents, a 10 percent discount on specific medicines for low-income solo parents with children 6 years and below, prioritization in low-cost housing, and Philhealth coverage.

“We also increased the safeguards of the law against fraud and leakage to ensure that only those who are really solo parents will enjoy the benefits of the law,” Hontiveros said during her sponsorship speech on the bicam report.

“Ito po ay lifeline na atin pong iniitsa sa mga (This measure is a lifeline we are giving to) solo parents,” said Hontiveros, who is a solo parent herself.

“And during this time of pandemic and economic difficulty, this lifeline could not be more urgent,” she stressed.

The final version of the measure would be sent to Malacañang for President Duterte’s signature.