AN ACT DEFINING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

AND THEIR CHILDREN, PROVIDING FOR

PROTECTIVE MEASURES FOR VICTIMS,
PRESCRIBING PENALTIES THEREFORE, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES
RA 9262 is constitutional, Garcia vs
Drilon, G.R. No. 179267, June 25, 2013.
 Valid classification; substantial
differences; unequal power relationship
 Germane to the purpose of the law
 Not limited to existing conditions
 Apply to all in the class; may include
lesbian relationships
Violence.
 Physical violence
 Sexual violence
 Psychological violence
 Economic violence
Applicability
Offender is any person and the act is committed
against:
a) wife,
b) former wife,
c) a woman w/ whom the person has a dating
relationship,
d) a woman w/ whom the person has a sexual
relationship,
e) a woman w/ whom the person has a common
child,
f) child of the woman under a-e.
Conspiracy.
With more reason, therefore, the principle of
conspiracy under Article 8 of the RPC may
be applied suppletorily to R.A. No. 9262
because of the express provision of
Section 47 that the RPC shall be
supplementary to said law. Thus, general
provisions of the RPC, which by their
nature, are necessarily applicable, may be
applied suppletorily. (Tan vs Tan, G.R. No.
168852, September 30, 2008)
Section 5. Acts of Violence.
a) Causing physical harm to the woman or
her child,
b) Threatening to cause physical harm,
c) Attempting to cause physical harm,
d) Placing the woman or child in fear of
imminent physical harm,
A single act is sufficient
Violence against women and their children refers to
any act or a series of acts committed by any person
against a woman. The conjunctive word "or" indicates
that a single act of harassment, which translated to
violence, would be sufficient. It did not mean that
physical violence must be repeatedly done in order to
be punishable under RA 9262. (Labutong vs PP, GR
No. 212361, 17 April 2017)
Section 5. Acts of Violence.
e) Compelling a woman or child to engage in
certain conduct or compelling a woman or
child to desist from certain conduct. This
includes but not limited to:
○ Threatening to deprive or depriving woman of
custody or access to family;
○ Depriving or threatening to deprive woman or legal
support or deliberately giving insufficient support;
○ Depriving or threatening to deprive woman or child
of a legal right;
○ Preventing a woman from engaging in any
legitimate profession or occupation, or controlling
the victim’s money or prop, conjugal or common
prop;
Compelling to engage in
conduct…
While a violation of Sec. 5(e) seems to
require that the acts enumerated therein is
meant to compel the woman or her child into
certain conduct as ruled in Reyes vs Pp, GR
No. 232678, 3 July 2019 this is not the case
in Melgar vs PP, GR No. 223477, 14 Feb
2018.
Section 5. Acts of Violence.
f) Inflicting or threatening to inflict physical
harm to oneself for the purpose of
controlling her actions or decisions.
g) Causing or attempting to cause a
woman or her child to engage in sexual
activity not constituting rape.
Section 5. Acts of Violence.
h) Engaging in conduct that alarms or causes
substantial emotional or psychological
distress, including, but not limited to:
 Stalking,
 Peering in the window or lingering outside the
residence,
 Entering or remaining on the property,
 Destroying the property and personal
belongings or inflicting harm to animals or pets
of the child,
 Engaging in form of harassment or violence.
Section 5. Acts of Violence.
i) Causing mental or emotional anguish,
public ridicule or humiliation, e.g., repeated
verbal and emotional abuse, denial of
financial support or custody of minor
children or denial of access.
Offense properly alleged.
 (1) The offended party AAA, is the wife of
offender Araza; (2) AAA sustained
emotional anguish and mental suffering;
and (3) such anguish and suffering is
inflicted by Araza when he had an
extramarital affair with Fabillar and had
three illegitimate children with her. (Araza
y Jarupay v. People, G.R. No. 247429,
[September 8, 2020])
 Means and effect
Psychological violence is an element of violation of
Section 5(i) just like the mental or emotional anguish
caused on the victim. Psychological violence is the
means employed by the perpetrator, while mental or
emotional anguish is the effect caused to or the
damage sustained by the offended party. (AAA vs
BBB, GR No. 212448, 11 Jan 2018)
Proof required.
 To establish psychological violence as an
element of the crime, it is necessary to
show proof of commission of any of the
acts enumerated in Section 5 (i) or similar
such acts. And to establish mental or
emotional anguish, it is necessary to
present the testimony of the victim as such
experiences are personal to this party. All
of these were complied with in the case at
bar. (Dinamling v. People, G.R. No.
199522, [June 22, 2015],)
Sec 5(i) elements
… the Court finds that the afore-quoted Information
contains the recital of facts necessary to constitute
the crime charged. The June 5, 2006 Information
stated in no uncertain terms that: (1) the offended
party, AAA, is the wife of the offender Reyes; (2) AAA
sustained mental and emotional anguish; and (3)
such anguish is inflicted by offender Reyes when he
deliberately and unlawfully denied AAA with financial
support. (Reyes vs Pp, GR No. 232678, 3 July 2019)
Two offenses?
In the Reyes case, the court ruled that
Reyes could also be liable for 5(e) if
properly indicted as his act of denying
financial support was for the purpose of
subjugating his wife into withdrawing the
criminal case. Does this ruling imply that if
properly charged Reyes can be liable for
two offenses under the law?
Harassment
The above provisions, taken together, indicate
that the elements of the crime of violence
against women through harassment are:
1. The offender has or had a sexual or dating
relationship with the offended woman;
2. The offender, by himself or through another,
commits an act or series of acts of harassment
against the woman; and
3. The harassment alarms or causes substantial
emotional or psychological distress to her.
(Ang vs CA, G.R. No. 182835, April 20, 2010)
Dating and sexual relations.
Clearly, the law itself distinguishes a sexual
relationship from a dating relationship.
Indeed, Section 3(e) above defines "dating
relationship" while Section 3(f) defines
"sexual relations." The latter "refers to a
single sexual act which may or may not
result in the bearing of a common child."
The dating relationship that the law
contemplates can, therefore, exist even
without a sexual intercourse taking place
between those involved. (Ang vs CA)
Killing a live-in partner.
 The proper nomenclature of the crime,
however, should be “Violation of Section
5 (a) in relation to Section 6 (a) of
RA 9262, constituting murder under
Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code.”
(People v. Clemente y Hernandez, G.R.
No. 231614 (Notice), [January 22, 2020])
Venue.
SECTION 7. Venue.- The Regional Trial
Court designated as a Family Court shall
have original and exclusive jurisdiction over
cases of violence against women and their
children under this law. In the absence of
such court in the place where the offense
was committed, the case shall be filed in
the Regional Trial Court where the crime or
any of its elements was committed at the
option of the compliant.
Act of violence committed
abroad…
In Section 7 of R.A. No. 9262, venue
undoubtedly pertains to jurisdiction. As
correctly pointed out by AAA, Section 7
provides that the case may be filed where the
crime or any of its elements was committed at
the option of the complainant. While the
psychological violence as the means
employed by the perpetrator is certainly an
indispensable element of the offense, equally
essential also is the element of mental or
emotional anguish which is personal to the
complainant.
…anguish suffered here.
It is necessary, for Philippine courts to have jurisdiction
when the abusive conduct or act of violence under
Section 5 (i) of R.A. No. 9262 in relation to Section 3
(a), Paragraph (C) was committed outside Philippine
territory, that the victim be a resident of the place where
the complaint is filed in view of the anguish suffered
being a material element of the offense. In the present
scenario, the offended wife and children of respondent
husband are residents of Pasig City since March of
2010. Hence, the RTC of Pasig City may exercise
jurisdiction over the case. (AAA vs BBB, GR No.
212448, 11 Jan 2018)
Protection orders.
A protection order is an order issued under
the law for the purpose of preventing
further acts of violence against a woman
or her child and granting other
necessary relief.

1. Barangay protection order (BPO),

2. Temporary protection order (TPO) and
3. Permanent protection order (PPO).
Violation of Protection Order
 BPO - municipal trial court, metropolitan
trial court, or municipal circuit trial court
that has territorial jurisdiction over the
barangay that issued the BPO.
Imprisonment of thirty (30) days.
 TPO & PPO – contempt of court
Public crime.
SECTION 25. Public Crime. – Violence
against women and their children shall
be considered a public offense which
may be prosecuted upon the filing of a
complaint by any citizen having personal
knowledge of the circumstances
involving the commission of the crime.
Prescriptive periods.
SECTION 24. Prescriptive Period. – Acts
falling under Sections 5(a) to 5(f) shall
prescribe in twenty (20) years. Acts
falling under Sections 5(g) to 5(I) shall
prescribe in ten (10) years.
Battered woman syndrome.
SECTION 26. Battered Woman Syndrome
as a Defense. – Victim-survivors who
are found by the courts to be suffering
from battered woman syndrome do not
incur any criminal and civil liability
notwithstanding the absence of any of
the elements for justifying circumstances
of self-defense under the Revised Penal
Code.
Prohibited defense.
SECTION 27. Prohibited Defense. – Being
under the influence of alcohol, any illicit
drug, or any other mind-altering
substance shall not be a defense under
this Act.