Naga passes ordinance on solo parents

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

NAGA CITY -- The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Naga passed Tuesday the Solo Parents’ Ordinance of Naga to give special privileges to the concerned party and their children and in consonance with the existing provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8972 otherwise known as the Solo Parents’ Act of 2000.

The ordinance was sponsored by City Councilors Nelson Legacion and Raoul Rosales. They said it aims to especially assist the single parents in raising their family especially those who are burdened with economic difficulty.

Legacion and Rosales added that they foresee a substantial number of solo parents in Naga City in the upcoming years, thus a need for a decree that will respond to their need for economic security, among others.

Aside from the stipulated and declared policy of the State pursuant to Section 2 of RA 8972, the Sangguniang Panlungsod of this city, will pursue in their local area of jurisdiction, the same pertinent benefits such as livelihood assistance, guidance through counseling and critical stress debriefing and other related endeavor.

To ensure that children of solo parents can still avail of education, the ordinance clearly stipulated among its provisions the granting of Tertiary Scholarship assistance, subject to the accomplishment of the requirements provided under City Ordinance 2010-063. This allows an allocation of 15 percent of the scholarship slot to the children of solo parents.

The same is stipulated under the Basic Educational Services of the City which states that children of solo parents will be one of the priorities for the inclusion in the under the city’s Sanggawadan Program- an initiative of the city which allows less privileged students to receive free rice allocation and school supplies from the City Social Welfare Office.

Solo parents under the said ordinance, will also automatically become members of the city’s Quality Universal Elementary and High School Education in Naga, popularly known as the QUEEN Program. The said program aims to ensure that all school children in Naga City will have an access and will complete quality elementary and high school education.

This is also aligned with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) commitment of our country which specifically pushes for a more accessible access of school children to complete primary education by 2015.

Aside from the aforesaid educational assistance, the ordinance also specified housing services to the solo parents and their children. Section 5c of Article 3 of the said ordinance says that: no less then fifteen percent (15%) of the beneficiaries in any new housing site under the city’s Socialized Housing Program should come from the ranks of the solo parents, subject to the program’s requirements.

Other assistance that the solo parents can avail of under the said ordinance includes death or burial assistance, medical assistance and other privileges and benefits that the city is currently giving or may subsequently offer.
A solo parent office under the direct supervision of the City Social Welfare and Development shall be created to specifically coordinate with other agencies of the government for the effective delivery of their services.