MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – Around 30 solo parents in Anda town, Pangasinan have been included in the pilot-testing of Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Strengthening Opportunities for Lone Parents or Program SOLo in Luzon on Tuesday.
Assistant Secretary for Operations Group Ada Colico, alternate chairperson of the Inter-Agency Coordinating and Monitoring Committee (IACMC) for the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, said DSWD and its partners will provide client-centered family case management and service delivery, establish parenting and emotional support systems for solo parents, and promote developmental interventions for their children under the SOLo program.
“The DSWD is committed to fostering and maintaining a sustained partnership with local government units (LGUs), as they play an important role in efficiently delivering services to solo parents at the grassroots level,” she said in a video message.
Beneficiaries of the program are solo parents with two to three children below 22 years old and who are not working, solo parents and their families residing within proximity to each other, and solo parents of diverse categories as identified by Republic Act (RA) 11861 or the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act.
DSWD Field Director Marcelo Nicomedes Castillo said the program is focused on providing psychosocial intervention, although the agency will also provide different aid such as financial assistance.
“We will help them see their concerns and address it. Focus first on the intangibles and also involve them in support groups,” he said in Filipino.
The other two pilot areas for the program are Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu and Panabo City in Davao del Norte.
The pilot testing will be from February to March 2024, and the assessment and feedbacks will be used to improve the program’s implementation nationwide.
Jonamine Caballero, one of the beneficiaries, thanked the national and the local government for including her in the program.
Prior to inclusion in the pilot testing, Caballero said the local government has already accepted her child for a scholarship program.
Mary Jane Flores, who has two children and became a solo parent after her husband left them, said her situation is indeed challenging, hence programs such as the SOLo is a huge help to her and her children. (PNA)
