Short answer. Yes, a father can. The Solo Parents' Welfare Act defines a solo parent as any individual in one of ten situations, and almost every category is written in gender-neutral terms; one even names an unmarried father. Republic Act No. 11861 (2022) has since widened the definition further.
What the law says
any individual who falls under any of the following categories
RA 8972, Section 3 — Who Counts As Solo Parent. Read the full provision →
The definition does not turn on sex
The Act opens its list by saying a solo parent is "any individual who falls under any of the following categories." That is the answer in a phrase: the law speaks of an individual and of a parent, not of a mother. The situations that follow — death of a spouse, a spouse detained or incapacitated, separation, annulment, abandonment — are all described in gender-neutral language. A father raising his children alone because of any of these fits the definition on exactly the same footing as a mother would. There is nothing in the core of the provision that reserves the status for women.
Where the law does mention mother or father
Only one category is sex-specific, and it is specific to women for an obvious reason: a woman who gives birth as a result of rape and keeps the child. That is a situation only a mother can be in, so naming her is not discrimination against fathers. Going the other way, the Act separately recognises an unmarried mother or father who chooses to keep and rear the child rather than give the child up. So the statute names fathers expressly in the one place it might have been read to exclude them.
What a father still has to show
Qualifying is not about sex; it is about the situation. A father must actually be left solo or alone with the responsibility of parenthood, or fall within one of the other listed categories. If the children's mother is still sharing the parenting in a real way, the situation the law describes may not exist. The Act also provides that a change in the parent's circumstances, so that he is no longer left alone with the responsibility of parenthood, ends eligibility for the benefits. The status follows the reality of who is raising the children, and it is not permanent.
The definition has since been widened
Treat the ten categories above as the floor. 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. A solo father's entitlements today are set by that newer law. In practice the status and its benefits are claimed through a Solo Parent Identification Card issued by the city or municipal social welfare office, which is where a father presents his proof of the qualifying situation.