Members of the LGBTQIA+ community may qualify as solo parents under the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, with no provision in the law excluding them, a Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) official said Thursday.
“The law is clear so wala naman po tayong room for interpretation na masasabi natin na hindi kasali ang members (there’s no room for interpretation to prohibit members) of the community or the LGBTQIA+ community,” DSWD Undersecretary and Special Committee on LGBTQIA+ Chairperson Elen De Vibar Pasion said during a media forum at the agency’s Central Office in Quezon City.
Pasion cited Republic Act 11861, which promotes the rights of solo parents and provides social protection and support for them and their families.
The law covers individuals who solely provide parental care and support to children under specified circumstances, including those involving abandonment, death or detention of a spouse. It also covers qualified legal guardians, adoptive parents, foster parents and relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Pasion cited the case of Amanda Alvarez, an LGBTQIA+ community member whose reported difficulties and delays in securing a solo parent ID in Valenzuela City recently went viral.
“Si Amanda, as the acting parent ng kanyang mga pamangkin, hindi naman po siya excluded, provided na ma-provide nya rin yung mga requirements (Amanda, as the acting parent of her nieces or nephews, is not excluded, provided she can also submit the required documents),” Pasion said.
Alvarez eventually obtained her solo parent ID after submitting the required documents to the Valenzuela City Social Welfare and Development Office, Pasion added.
The DSWD official attributed the delay to a misunderstanding over the additional requirements needed to process the application.
Pasion urged the public to be more sensitive when commenting on issues affecting vulnerable and marginalized groups.
DSWD Protective Services Bureau data showed that 7,259 of the country’s 294,649 registered solo parents belong to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Region 10 (Northern Mindanao) recorded the highest number at 1,753, followed by Calabarzon with 1,553 and Region 2 (Cagayan Valley) with 1,468. (PNA)
