1.

Based on the Family Code of the Philippines, what are incestuous

marriages and are considered void from the beginning?

Under Article 37 of the family code, marriages between the following are
incestuous and are void from the beginning regardless if the relationship
between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:

a. Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and

b. Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood.

2. What are void marriages for reasons of public policy?

Under Article 38 of the family code, the following marriages shall be void
from the beginning for reasons of public policy:

a. Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to

the fourth civil degree;

b. Between step-parents and step-children;

c. Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;

d. Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;

e. Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted
child;

f. Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;

g. Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;

h. Between adopted children of the same adopter; and

i. Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed
that other person's spouse, or his or her own spouse.
3. What are the grounds for legal separation?

Under Art. 55 of the Family Code, a petition for legal separation may be
filed on any of the following grounds:
a. Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the
petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;

b. Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change

religious or political affiliation;

c. Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child,

or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such
corruption or inducement;

d. Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than

six years, even if pardoned;

e. Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;

f. Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;

g. Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage,

whether in the Philippines or abroad;

h. Sexual infidelity or perversion;

i. Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or

j. Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for

more than one year.
4. What is psychological incapacity?

Psychological incapacity is defined as a personal condition that prevents a

spouse from complying with fundamental marital obligations toward a specific
partner and that may have existed at the time of marriage but became evident
only through behavior subsequent to the marriage ceremony.

Psychological incapacity must be characterized by:

a. gravity: it must be grave and serious such that the party would be
incapable of carrying out the ordinary duties required in a marriage

b. juridical antecedence: it must be rooted in the history of the party

antedating the marriage, although the overt manifestations may emerge
only after the marriage and

c. incurability: it must be incurable or even if it were otherwise, the cure

would be beyond the means of the party involved

5. What are the effects of filing Legal Separation as found in Art. 61 of the
Family code?

An effect of the filing of legal separation is the dissolving of the property

relations of the spouses and removes the guilty party's capacity to inherit from
the innocent party. This is the result of the spouses being entitled to living
separately from each other as per article 61 of the Family Code of the
Philippines. A third person will be designated by the court to administer the
absolute community of conjugal partnership property. This is in the absence of
a written agreement between the spouses.

6. Discuss the salient features of RA 9262?

I. What are the different kinds of abuse under Republic Act 9262?

The difference kinds of abuse under Republic ACT 9262 are as follows:

a. Physical violence - acts that include bodily or physical harm (battery).

 b. Sexual Violence – the acts which are sexual in nature committed against a
woman or her child.

c. Psychological Violence – Acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental

or emotional suffering of the victim.

d. Economic Abuse – Acts that make or attempt to make a woman financially

dependent upon her abuser.

II. Who may be liable for VAWC?

Due to the supplementary provisions stated in Article 47 of RA 9262 and

through the principle of conspiracy under the Revised Penal Code, any
person may be held liable for VAWC. As defined in the Anti-Violation
Against Women and Their Children Act 0f 2004, “any person against a
woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the
person has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or with whom he has a
common child”. Thus, anyone can be held liable.

III. What is the corresponding penalty if someone has been convicted for
violation of R.A. 9262?

The following penalties shall be observed for violations of the provision of

R.A. 9262:
 For physical violence under Section 5(a), such as parricide, murder or
homicide, it shall be punished in accordance with the Revised Penal Code.
 In case of serious physical injuries, the penalty shall be prision mayor; the
penalty of prision correccional for less serious physical injuries, and arresto
mayor for slight physical injuries.
 For the threatening to cause physical violence under 5(b), it shall be
punished by imprisonment of two degrees lower than the prescribed
penalty for the consummated crime as specified in the preceding paragraph
but shall in no case be lower than arresto mayor.
 For acts failing under 5 (c)(d)(f), the penalty shall be arresto mayor.
 For acts failing under 5 (e), the penalty shall be prision correccional.
 For acts falling under 5(g)(h)(i), the penalty shall be prision mayor.
 In addition to imprisonment, the perpetrator shall (a) pay a fine in the amount
of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than
three hundred thousand pesos (300,000.00); (b) undergo mandatory
psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment and shall report compliance
to the court (Section 6, R.A. 9262).

IV. Discuss the role of barangay officers as mentioned in R.A. 9262.

The Barangay Officers role as mentioned in R.A. 9262 is to assist VAW

victims in securing Barangay Protection Order (BPO) and accessing
necessary services. They are also tasked to respond to gender-based
violence cases brought to the barangay.

V. What is BPO?

A Barangay Protection Order (BPO) refers to the protection order issued by

the Punong Barangay, or in his absence the Barangay Kagawad.

VI. What is the purpose of a Barangay Protection Order (BPO)?

The purpose of a Barangay Protection Order (BPO) is to order the

perpetrator to desist from committing acts of violence against the family or
household members particularly women and their children under Sections
5a and 5b of R.A. No. 9262.