Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (Rep. Villafuerte's office)

Solo parents are now entitled to free health services through the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), as provided under the law expanding the economic benefits for single mothers and fathers. 

This was highlighted Wednesday, Feb. 14 by Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte, who bared that PhilHealth has been working on the guidelines on the implementation of the free health services for single parents. 

Villafuerte says this is based on a report from the National Council for Solo Parents Inc. (NCSP). 

“Alongside a monthly cash subsidy for solo parents earning the minimum wage or below, and the 10 percent discount plus exemption from the 12 percent value-added tax (VAT) on certain essential purchases, single dads and moms are now entitled to free PhilHealth coverage,” he said. 

The Bicolano is a lead author of Republic Act (RA) No.11861, which expanded the coverage and benefits due to single parents and their families under the two-decade-old “Solo Parents Welfare Act” of 2000 or RA No.8972.  

The PhilHealth coverage is automatic and will apply to both working and non-working solo parents, Villafuerte said. 

RA No.11861 increased the age threshold of the dependents entitled to the law’s benefits from 18 years old to 22, and expanded the coverage of spouses to include not only the legit husbands or wives but also to partners in common-law relationships as defined by the Family Code. 

Aside from parents whose spouses have passed away, unmarried fathers or mothers, and rape victims who opted to keep their offsprings, those legally considered as "solo parents" under RA No.11861 include the spouses or family members of semi-skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have been away from the Philippines for a period of 12 months, grandparents and other family members or qualified guardians who bear sole responsibility over the qualified children, and those whose spouses have been detained for at least three months for a criminal conviction. 

Also classified now as “solo parents’ are those whose spouses have been medically certified as physically or mentally incapacitated, those who have been separated from their spouses for at least six months and have taken on sole parental care and support of their children, those whose marriages have been nullified or annulled and have been entrusted with solo parental care, and those who have been abandoned by their spouses for at least six months. 

Alongside leave privileges under existing laws, solo parents are likewise entitled to a seven-day parental leave with pay regardless of employment status, and they get priority in any telecommuting program of their workplaces, said Villafuerte, who also co-authored RA No. 11165 or the Telecommuting Act of 2018. 

Villafuerte said that solo parents may also avail of the 10 percent discount and value-added tax (VAT) exemption on their purchases of essentials such as baby’s milk, diapers, and doctor-prescribed medicines for kids aged six years and below.