Short answer. Yes, but only if two things are true: your spouse's physical or mental incapacity is certified by a public medical practitioner, and you are the one left alone carrying the responsibility of parenthood. Note that Republic Act No. 11861 (2022) has since widened who qualifies, so treat the older list as a floor.
What the law says
Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to physical and/or mental incapacity of spouse as certified by a public medical practitioner
RA 8972, Section 3 — Who Counts As Solo Parent. Read the full provision →
Where an incapacitated spouse fits
The Solo Parents' Welfare Act lists ten situations that make someone a solo parent, and an incapacitated spouse is one of them: "Parent left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood due to physical and/or mental incapacity of spouse as certified by a public medical practitioner." The incapacity can be physical, mental, or both. What the clause describes is a marriage where one spouse can no longer share the work of raising the children because of a genuine medical condition, leaving the other to carry it alone. It is the carrying alone, not the diagnosis by itself, that the law is recognising.
The certification is what the office will ask for
Notice the qualifying phrase: the incapacity must be certified by a public medical practitioner. This is not a formality you can skip. A private letter, or your own account of your spouse's condition, is not what the provision calls for; it asks for certification from a public medical practitioner, and the office processing your claim will look for exactly that document. The reason is practical — solo-parent status unlocks leave and other benefits, so the law fixes an objective, verifiable trigger rather than leaving it to each family's say-so. Getting that certification in order is usually the first concrete step, before anything else.
"Left solo or alone" has to be real
The category is not satisfied by the incapacity alone; you must also be left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood. If another parent, or the household as a whole, still genuinely shares the raising of the children, the situation the law describes may not exist. The Act also has a built-in expiry: it says a change in the parent's status or circumstance, such that he or she is no longer left alone with the responsibility of parenthood, terminates eligibility for these benefits. So the status tracks the present reality of who is carrying the children, and it can end if that reality changes.
The rule has since been widened
Read all of this as the floor rather than the ceiling. Republic Act No. 11861 (2022), the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, broadened who counts as a solo parent, eased the length-of-service requirement for the parental leave, and added benefits — including a discount and value-added-tax exemption — that the older text does not contain. So an incapacitated spouse still qualifies you, but the current terms and the fuller package of benefits are set by the newer law. In practice the benefits are claimed through a Solo Parent Identification Card from your city or municipal social welfare office, which is where the certification and your proof of parenthood are assessed.