Domestic Violence

Domestic violence (violence against women and their children)

The law protecting Women and their Children against some form of violence

This is RA 9262 known as “Violence against women and their children”. It defines violence as any act or series of acts committed by any person against a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, with whom he has a common child, or against her child whether legitimate or illegitimate, within or without the family abode, which result in or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or suffering, or economic abuse including threats of such acts, battery, assault, coercion, harassment or arbitrary deprivation of liberty.

Kinds of violence are prohibited by RA 9262

They are physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and economic abuse.

Sexual violence refers to an act which is sexual in nature, committed against a woman or her child. It includes but is not limited to:

  1. rape, sexual harassment, acts of lasciviousness, treating a woman or her child as a sex object, making demeaning and sexually suggestive remarks, – physically attacking the sexual parts of the victim’s body, forcing him/her to watch obscene publications and indecent shows or forcing the woman or her child to do indecent acts and/or to make films thereof, forcing the wife and mistress/lover to live in the conjugal home or sleep together in the same room with the abuser;
  2. acts causing or attempting to cause the victim to engage in any sexual activity by force, threat of force, physical or other harm or coercion;
  3. prostituting the woman or child

Psychological violence refers to acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering of the victim such as but not limited intimidation, harassment, stalking, [damage to property, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse, marital infidelity, causing or allowing the victim to witness the physical, sexual or psychological abuse of a member of a family to which the victim belongs, causing victim to witness pornography in any form or to witness abusive injury to pets and unlawful or unwanted deprivation of the right to custody and/or visitation of common children.

Economic abuse refers to acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially dependent which includes but is not limited to the following:

  1. withdrawal of financial support or preventing the victim from engaging in any legitimate profession, occupation, business or activity, except in cases wherein the other spouse/partner objects on valid, serious and moral grounds as defined in Article 73 of the Family Code;
  2. deprivation or threat of deprivation of financial resources and the right to the use and enjoyment of the conjugal, community or property owned in common;
  3. destroying household property;
  4. controlling the victims’ own money or properties or solely controlling the conjugal money or properties.

Remedy to avail in order to protect the mother and her children from acts of violence under RA 9262

Apply for a protection order

Protection Order

Section 8 of RA 9262 defines “protection order” as an order issued for the purpose of preventing further acts of violence against a woman or her child specified in Section 5 and granting other necessary relief.

There are three kinds of protection orders under RA 9262; the BPO (Barangay Protection Order), and the TPO (Temporary protection Order) and PPO (Permanent Protection Order) issued by the court.

Persons who can ask a protection order. Not limited to the woman-victim and/or her children

The persons who can file the petition for a protection order are the following:

  1. the offended party;
  2. parents or guardians of the offended party;
  3. ascendants, descendants or collateral relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity;
  4. officers or social workers of the DSWD or social workers of local government units (LGUs);
  5. police officers, preferably those in charge of women and children’s desks;
  6. Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad;
  7. Lawyer, counselor, therapist or healthcare provider of the petitioner;
  8. At least two (2) concerned responsible citizens of the city or municipality where the violence against women and their children occurred and who have personal knowledge of the offense committed.

Steps to apply for a protection order

Section 11 of RA 9262 provides the steps in applying for a protection order.

The application for a protection order must be in writing, signed and verified under oath by the applicant. It may be filed as an independent action or as incidental relief in any civil or criminal case the subject matter or issues thereof partakes of violence as described in RA 9262. A standard protection order application form, written in English with translation to the major local languages, shall be made available to facilitate applications for protection order, and shall contain, among others, the following information:

  1. names and addresses of the petitioner and respondent
  2. description of relationships between petitioner and respondent;
  3. a statement of the circumstances of the abuse; description of the reliefs requested by petitioner as specified in Section 8 herein;
  4. request for counsel and reasons for such;
  5. request for waiver of application fees until hearing; and
  6. an attestation that there is no pending application for a protection order in another court.

If the applicant is not the victim, the application must be accompanied by an affidavit of the applicant attesting to (a) the circumstances of the abuse suffered by the victim and (b) the circumstances of consent given by the victim for the filing of the application. When disclosure of the address of the victim will pose danger to her life, it shall be so stated in the application. In such a case, the applicant shall attest that the victim is residing in the municipality or city over which the court has territorial jurisdiction, and shall provide a mailing address for purpose of service processing.

An application for protection order filed with a court shall be considered an application for both a TPO and PPO.

Barangay officials and court personnel shall assist applicants in the preparation of the application. Law enforcement agents shall also extend assistance in the application for protection orders in cases brought to their attention.

Section 12 of RA 9262 provides, to wit, “All TPOs and PPOs issued under this Act shall be enforceable anywhere in the Philippines and a violation thereof shall be punishable with a fine ranging from Five Thousand pesos (P5,000.00) to Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) and/or imprisonment of six (6) months.”

Step to apply for a Barangay Protection Order

Section 14 of RA 9262 provides for the following procedures:

A Punong Barangay who receives applications for a BPO shall issue the protection order to the applicant on the date of filing after ex parte determination of the basis of the application.

  1. If the Punong Barangay is unavailable to act on the application for a BPO, the application shall be acted upon by any available Barangay Kagawad.
  2. If the BPO is issued by a Barangay Kagawad, the order must be accompanied by an attestation by the Barangay Kagawad that the Punong Barangay was unavailable at the time of the issuance of a BPO.
  3. BPOs shall be effective for fifteen (15) days.
  4. Immediately after the issuance of an ex parte BPO, the Punong Barangay or Barangay Kagawad shall personally serve a copy of the same on the respondent, or direct any barangay official to effect its personal service.
  5. The parties may be accompanied by a non-lawyer advocate in any proceeding before the Punong Barangay.

The BPO is limited to only the following reliefs or remedies:

  1. Prohibition of the respondent from threatening to commit or committing, personally or through another, any of the acts mentioned in Section 5 of this Act;
  2. Prohibition of the respondent from harassing, annoying, telephoning, contacting or otherwise communicating with the petitioner, directly or indirectly.

The issuance of a Barangay Protection Order or the pendency of an application for BPO shall not preclude a petitioner from applying for, or the court from granting a TPO or PPO.

Temporary Protection Order (TPO)

Section 15 of RA 9262 defines a TPO as the protection order issued by the court on the date of filing of the application after ex parte determination that such order should be issued. Ex parte determination means that the offender does not need to be notified of the hearing or to be present during the hearing for the issuance of a TPO. A court may grant in a TPO any, some or all of all the reliefs mentioned in Section 8 of RA 9262. According to  the rules on Violence Against Women and their Children, the TPO can be issued if the court is satisfied from the verified allegations of the petition that there is reasonable ground to believe that an imminent danger of violence against women and their children exists or is about to recur, the court may issue ex parte a temporary protection order which shall be effective for thirty days from service on the party or person sought to be enjoined.

The court shall schedule a hearing on the issuance of a PPO prior to or on the date of the expiration of the TPO.

The court shall order the immediate personal service of the TPO on the respondent by the court sheriff who may obtain the assistance of law enforcement agents for the service. The TPO shall include notice of the date of the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO.

Permanent Protection Order (PPO)

Section 16 of RA 9262 defines “Permanent Protection Order” (PPO) as the protection order issued by the court after notice and hearing. While a TPO may be decided ex parte, notice to the alleged offender and due hearing are necessary for the issuance of a PPO. The alleged offender cannot frustrate justice by refusing or failing to appear during the hearing. RA 9262 provides for the following:

  1. Respondent’s non-appearance despite proper notice, or his lack of a lawyer, or the non-availability of his lawyer shall not be a ground for rescheduling or postponing the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO.
  2. If the respondent appears without counsel on the date of the hearing on the PPO, the court shall appoint a lawyer for the respondent and immediately proceed with the hearing.
  3. In case the respondent fails to appear despite proper notice, the court shall allow ex parte presentation of the evidence by the applicant and render judgment on the basis of the evidence presented.

Procedures for the issuance of a PPO

RA 9262 provides for the following procedures:

  1. The court shall allow the introduction of any history of abusive conduct of a respondent even if the same was not directed against the applicant or the person for whom the application is made.
  2. The court shall, to the extent possible, conduct the hearing on the merits of the issuance of a PPO in one (1) day.
  3. Where the court is unable to conduct the hearing within one (1) day and the TPO issued is due to expire, the court shall continuously extend or renew the TPO for a period of thirty (30) days at each particular time until a final judgment is issued. The extended or renewed TPO may be modified by the court as may be necessary or applicable to address the needs of the applicant.
  4. The court may grant any, some or all of the reliefs specified in Section 8 hereof in a PPO. A PPO shall be effective until revoked by a court upon application of the person in whose favor the order was issued.
  5. The court shall ensure immediate personal service of the PPO on respondent.
  6. The court shall not deny the issuance of protection order on the basis of the lapse of time between the act of violence and the filing of the application.
  7. Regardless of the conviction or acquittal of the respondent, the Court must determine whether or not the PPO shall become final. Even in a dismissal, a PPO shall be granted as long as there is no clear showing that the act from which the order might arise did not exist

Contents of a Protection Order

Section 17 of RA 9262 provides that the following statement must be printed in boldfaced type or in capital letters on the protection order issued by the Punong Barangay or Court:

“VIOLATION OF THIS ORDER IS PUNISHABLE BY LAW.

“IF THE RESPONDENT APPEARS WITHOUT COUNSEL ON THE DATE OF THE PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE AND HEARING ON THE MERITS ON THE ISSUANCE OF . A PERMANENT PROTECTION ORDER, THE COURT SHALL NOT RESCHEDULE OR POSTPONE THE PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE AND HEARING BUT SHALL APPOINT A LAWYER FOR THE RESPONDENT AND IMMEDIATELY PROCEED WITH SAID HEARING.

“IF THE RESPONDENT FAILS TO APPEAR ON THE DATE OF THE PRELIMINARY CONFERENCE AND HEARING ON THE MERITS DESPITE PROPER NOTICE, THE COURT SHALL ALLOW EX PARTE PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE BY THE PETITIONER AND RENDER JUDGMENT ON THE BASIS OF THE PLEADINGS AND EVIDENCE ON RECORD. NO DELEGATION OF THE RECEPTION OF EVIDENCE SHALL BE ALLOWED.”

Consequence of the barangay’s or  court’s failure to observe the periods mentioned in RA 9262

Section 18 provides that failure to act on an application for a protection order within the reglementary period without justifiable cause shall render the official or judge administratively liable. Section 20 provides that application for a protection order shall have priority, to wit:

  1. Barangay officials and the courts shall schedule and conduct hearings on applications for a protection order under this Act above all other business and, if necessary, suspend other proceedings in order to hear applications for a protection order.
  2. Ex parte and adversarial hearings to determine the basis of applications for a protection order under RA 9262 shall have priority over all other proceedings.

Consequence if the woman’s intimate partner violates the BPO by inflicting harm or threatening the woman and/or her child

Under Section 21, a violation of BPO shall be punishable by imprisonment of thirty (30) days without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed:

  1. A complaint for a violation of a BPO issued under this Act must be filed directly with any municipal trial court, metropolitan trial court, or municipal circuit trial court that has territorial jurisdiction over the barangay that issued the BPO.
  2. A judgment of violation of a BPO may be appealed according to the Rules of Court. During trial and upon judgment, the trial court may motu propio issue a protection order as it deems necessary without need of an application.

Effect on the violation of a TPO or PPO

Violation of any provision of a TPO or a PPO issued under this Act shall constitute contempt of court punishable under Rule 71 of the Rules of Court, without prejudice to any other criminal or civil action that the offended party may file for any of the acts committed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *